07 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Helsinki, Finland

The Faculty of Theology in the University of Helsinki is searching for Postdoctoral Researcher for a period of 2 years for the Academy of Finland funded research project Jeremiah for the 21st Century (PI: Dr. Miika Tucker) to carry out research connected to:

• The Peshitta version of Jeremiah
• Textual criticism of the Book of Jeremiah

The research will be related to Tucker’s project on the critical editions of Jeremiah for the series Biblia Hebraica Quinta and The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition. The project aims at establishing the closest-to-original text of the book of Jeremiah.

The researcher in Jeremiah for the 21st Century will work in close collaboration with the PI. The duties of the researcher include:

• Collation and text-critical analysis of the Peshitta version of Jeremiah, including assessment of the Peshitta readings in comparison with the readings in the Masoretic text and the Septuagint.
• Sharing and processing the textual data on an electronic platform.
• Publishing their analytical findings on the text(s) they study in first-rate journals.
• Teaching and related duties in the Faculty of Theology (5–10%).

Doing research in Jeremiah for the 21st Century will offer a chance for inspiring, creative teamwork in a modern, research-oriented institution in the heart of Helsinki. The researcher will develop their expertise in the field of textual studies of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament.

The main aim of the postdoctoral project is to design and conduct field and greenhouse experiments for testing causality in plant-microclimate relationships, especially from a functional ecology perspective. The focus is on tundra plants under climate change and how microclimates shape responses within and across species, populations, and communities. The main task of the postdoctoral researcher involves designing and registering protocols for greenhouse and field experiments, conducting the experiments, and carrying out the related statistical analyses and writing of manuscripts.

The Fagerholm group consists of Immunologists, Biochemists and Bioinformaticians working together to understand the molecular mechanisms which regulate immune cell trafficking and function in vivo. We are especially interested in the role of integrins in immune system regulation and in immune-system related diseases such as immunodeficiency and cancer. We use a wide range of techniques such as mouse models, tumor models, in vivo immune cell migration and other functional assays, flow cytometry, cell biology, metabolic assays, imaging and next generation sequencing to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of immune cell function.
The researcher (position 1) will participate in a project which investigates and develops novel immunotherapies (cell therapies) to cancer, utilizing both mouse and human systems. Applicants should possess a PhD degree or be close to graduation. An excellent academic record, a deep understanding of immunology/immunotherapy (human/mouse) as well as practical experience of immune cell biology, cell culture, gene edition (crispr/cas), flow cytometry, other immunological methods and mouse colony management is required. The applicant should have the ability to work productively both independently and as part of a team. The position is available until end of 2026, starting as soon as possible. A six month trial period will be applied.
The Harjunpää group is focused on understanding the interplay between cellular metabolism, immune cell functions and anti-tumor responses. The aim is to develop novel cancer immunotherapies with specific focus on safety and on the effects on systemic metabolism. We use similar techniques as the Fagerholm group with emphasis on mouse models, tumor models, cell culture and flow cytometry.
The researcher (position 2) will participate in a project which investigates novel combination immunotherapies (immune checkpoint inhibition) against cancer and assesses the effects of the therapy both on cellular and organismal level. Applicants should possess a PhD degree or be close to graduation. An excellent academic record, knowledge on immunology, immunotherapies and practical experience in mouse handling and cell culture is required. Knowledge on cellular and systemic metabolism and experience in Flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, microscopy and computational analysis skills (such as RNAseq, sc-RNseq analysis) are considered advantageous. The applicant should have the ability to work productively both independently and as part of a team. The position starts in January 2026 and has the possibility to continue until August 2029. A six month trial period will be applied.

The successful candidate will work within the research project “Expanding the Horizons of Antimicrobial Resistance Research” funded by the Research Council of Finland in the research group of Academy Research Fellow Katariina Pärnänen. Our group aims to discover associations with socio-economic markers, health, gut microbiomes, and antibiotic resistance in large population cohorts and big data to help mitigate the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis.

AMR is one of the biggest threats to human health and is estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths annually. However, drivers of the AMR crisis are still largely unexplored in population cohorts. Also, the amount of sequencing data has increased massively in the last decade, providing opportunities to mine big data to learn more about the drivers of AMR in humans. Our work includes computational analysis of antibiotic resistance and microbiomes, statistical analysis of high-dimensional datasets, and developing bioinformatic pipelines for high-throughput analysis in high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. The work provides the possibility to develop skills in microbial ecology, data analysis, and bioinformatics in an international and multidisciplinary setting and gain a competitive academic CV.

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to combine analyses of ecological time-series data with field-collected biodiversity and ecosystem functioning measurements to understand how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are linked and changing across different habitats in response to climate change and/or human use of natural resources. The successful candidate will contribute to developing the specific research questions on understanding the relationship between different dimensions of biodiversity and a range of ecosystem functions based on field data. Depending on the research interests of the candidate, there will also be opportunities to complement existing data with additional field data collection and/or experimentation.

We seek candidates who have completed a PhD in ecology or a related field, have strong conceptual and statistical skills, and experience working with large and complex datasets. The position requires the ability to analyse diverse field-collected biodiversity and ecosystem functioning measurements, a solution-oriented mindset, and enthusiasm for research. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, independence, and creativity are required, alongside the ability to conceive, execute, and complete research projects. The postdoc will work as part of a collaborative team at the Centre, and strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential. 

In addition, the candidate will actively contribute to teaching and administrative tasks (up to 5% of their working time annually). It is possible to complete the teaching and administrative tasks through English.