Doctoral student in Molecular Microbiology

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

The Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology conducts high-quality research and education in chemical sciences and molecular life sciences. Our research and education focuses on a deep understanding of chemical and biological processes in cells and in the environment. We address important societal issues such as antibiotic resistance, cancer, brain diseases, environmental problems and climate change. In this way, we contribute to achieving the UN's global goals for sustainable development in the areas of good health and well-being, sustainable energy for all, sustainable cities and communities, and combating climate change.

The department is an international environment with interdisciplinary collaborations in both research and education, and contributes strongly to the University of Gothenburg's top ranking in life science. Research and graduate education at the department comprises a wide scientific field from the atomic and molecular levels all the way through cells to intact organisms. Much of the phenomena studied here impact on our natural environment and living systems. We participate in undergraduate programs in chemistry, molecular biology, medicinal chemistry, biology, marine sciences, and pharmacy. The department collaborates with various societal actors such as schools, business and authorities.

The Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology has around 200 employees. We are located in central premises on Campus Medicinareberget in Gothenburg.

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university's doctoral student pages. https://www.gu.se/en/science/doctoral-studies/become-a-phd-student-at-the-faculty-of-science
 

Duties   

Many of the members of The Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology are also part of the Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe) which is a network of researchers addressing this global crisis.

Anne Farewell’s group uses molecular genetics and high-throughput screening to study how bacterial cells respond to stress and more recently has focused on the mechanisms of the spread of antibiotic resistance between bacteria.

This project is part of the larger collaboration funded by JPIAMR called NewResGenes: Informing genomic surveillance by uncovering, phenotyping and prioritising resistance genes to new antibiotics. We will leverage variations that exist in natural populations of pathogenic bacteria to identify genomic variants underlying resistance to new antimicrobials. We have previously adopted a high-throughput system to screen growth kinetics and yield of Escherichia coli on agar plates capable of screening ~50,000 colonies in one experiment and we collected and sequenced >2000 diverse Escherichia coli strains isolated from a wide variety of environments. This includes strains isolated from the pre-antibiotic era and recent highly resistant clinical isolates. Screening of growth on sub-minimal inhibitory antibiotics allowed us to infer genetic variants underlying resistance using machine learning and genome-wide association studies. We will first use this platform to screen resistance to new antimicrobials in Escherichia coli. Candidate hits will be cloned and their resistance phenotype confirmed. Next, we will adapt the platform to Acinetobacter and will uncover specific genomic variants, including both gene presence-absence variations and SNPs, underlying resistance. Finally, we will characterize whether these ARGS are mobile and can spread to other bacteria via conjugation using our platform.

The assignments of the student will include: high-throughput screening of growth and conjugation, large data analysis, targeted studies of individual strains or genes thought to be important for antibiotic resistance or conjugation, and the review of relevant literature.

The recruited PhD student will participate in seminars and internal group meetings, and in addition interact with other research groups in the department, CARe or abroad.

Additionally, the student is expected to acquire 60 hp through PhD level courses, some of which are mandatory, and to help with the teaching of laboratory exercises that are part of undergraduate courses. Most work-related activities will be carried out in English.

Education at third-cycle level comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.    

As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.  

  

Eligibility   

To be eligible for third-cycle studies, the applicant must meet both the general and specific entry requirements: A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle courses and study programs if he or she:

1. has been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
2. has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or
3. has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

To meet the specific entry requirements for third-cycle studies, applicants must: (i) have a second-cycle (advanced-level) degree in a relevant* subject area in the natural sciences, or (ii) have completed studies for at least 60 higher education credits at a second-cycle level in relevant subject areas in the natural sciences, or (iii) have completed a corresponding program of relevance to the planned third-cycle program, in Sweden or in another country, or have equivalent qualifications.

*Relevant for the planned third-cycle education

The specific entry requirements also include an acceptable command of spoken and written English. Guidelines for assessing English proficiency may include a minimum score of 550 on the TOEFL test (or 213 on the TOEFL-CBT, or 79 on the TOEFL-iBT).

Assessment criteria

In selecting between applicants who meet the general and specific entry requirements, their ability to benefit from third-cycle studies shall be taken into account. The assessment shall attach particular importance to documented qualifications for:

A suitable educational background which should comprise one or more of the following areas: molecular biology, microbiology, synthetic biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and high throughput molecular techniques including robotics.

Prior experience from experimental and in silico work in any of the above areas is advantageous as is experience with bacterial molecular genetics. Experience with large data sets or statistical programming languages (e.g., R or Python) is highly advantageous.

High motivation to pursue doctoral studies and ability to independently plan and organize own experiments.

Good ability to analyse and communicate scientific results, and to present both in oral and written form in English.

Interest in and ability to work collaboratively within the  lab group.

Applications will be evaluated by the main supervisor and co-supervisor, to select a top group of candidates. These will be interviewed, if required over Internet or phone.   

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the education at third-cycle level.   

  

Employment  

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment, four years full time

Extent: 100 %

Location: Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Gothenburg

First day of employment: As soon as possible based on agreement

Once you have been admitted for education at third-cycle level, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg. Regulations for the evaluation of qualifications for education on a doctoral level are given in SFS 1993:100. A new employment as a PhD student applies for a maximum of one year. The Appointment may be prolonged for up to two years at a time. A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at third-cycle level for four years.

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.   

 

Contact information 

Anne Farewell, anne.farewell@cmb.gu.se
  

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:   
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande   

  

Application   

You can apply to be admitted for education at third-cycle level via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal.   

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.   

Applications must be received by: 7th of May 2024

 

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services 
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/ 

  

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.