Postdoctoral Researcher in DNA nanostructures for cell targeting

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at Karolinska Institutet conducts research and teaching within immunology, infection biology, cell biology and cancer. Our key words are multidisciplinary, bridging, national and international collaborations.

Join a SciLifeLab-based research group that builds self-assembled DNA nanostructures and uses directed evolution to discover carriers that enter specific cell types. We recently established a selection platform in which libraries of DNA nanostructures are folded, incubated with cells, recovered from lysates and sequenced over repeated rounds (Rajwar et al., Advanced Materials, 2026) – and we are now taking it from proof of concept towards cell-specific delivery of therapeutic payloads. You will work at the interface of DNA nanotechnology, cell biology and high-throughput sequencing, with access to state-of-the-art imaging, flow cytometry and sequencing infrastructure at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab. We offer an open, collaborative and international environment where you are encouraged to drive your own ideas and build an independent research profile.

Your mission

You will develop and apply our selection platform for DNA nanostructures that are preferentially taken up by defined cell types. The work builds directly on our recent study, in which iterative rounds of cellular uptake selection, combined with nanopore and Illumina sequencing, identified individual nanostructures with cell-type-specific internalization. Your main tasks will be to extend the selection to disease-relevant cell models, characterise selected candidates in detail including adding therapeutic payloads such as nucleic acid therapeutcis.

• Design, assemble and purify DNA nanostructures and nanostructure libraries
• Perform cellular uptake and selection experiments in mammalian cell culture, including cancer cell lines and more complex models
• Quantify and localise internalised structures using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, including studies of uptake routes and endosomal escape
• Functionalise structures with targeting groups and therapeutic payloads, such as oligonucleotides for gene silencing, and evaluate their activity in cells
• Analyse high-throughput sequencing data from selection experiments in close collaboration with computational colleagues in the group
• Present results at international conferences, write scientific manuscripts and contribute to supervision of students in the group

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

In addition to the aforementioned requirements for the position:

• A PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biomedicine, nanotechnology or a related field
• Documented experience of mammalian cell culture and cell-based assays, demonstrated through publications in international peer-reviewed journals
• Documented hands-on experience of confocal microscopy and/or flow cytometry, including independent sample preparation, acquisition and quantitative image or data analysis
• Experience of working with nucleic acids and standard molecular biology techniques, such as PCR, enzymatic modification of DNA and gel electrophoresis
• Ability to plan, carry out and report experimental work independently, and to document it rigorously
• Very good command of spoken and written English

Meritorious for the position:

• Experience of gene silencing experiments, for example siRNA, antisense oligonucleotides or CRISPR-based approaches, including transfection and readouts of target knockdown
• Experience of studies of endocytosis, intracellular trafficking or endosomal escape of nanoparticles or nucleic acid delivery systems
• Experience of DNA nanotechnology, oligonucleotide design or self-assembled nanostructures
• Experience of work with cancer cell lines, primary cells or three-dimensional cell models such as spheroids
• Experience of high-throughput sequencing and basic data analysis, and of scripting in Python or R
• Experience of working in interdisciplinary projects and of collaboration across research fields

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Solna

Group website

Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• PhD certificate
• A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

KI applies individual and differentiated salary setting in accordance with our collective agreements RALS and RALS-T

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!