Looking for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships candidates – Chemotherapy in healthy cells and (liver) cancer cells

Are you a young researcher in the field of translational cancer research interested in doing a postdoc in Sweden? We are looking for postdoctoral researchers with an excellent track record to apply to the European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) postdoctoral fellowships.  

Our research group:

Through different lines of research, we try to identifyhow to improve chemotherapy response in liver cancer, while at the same time reducing side effects on other organs. Liver cancer is characterised by a high level of resistance to therapy, thus limiting survival and offering only few therapeutic options. On the other hand, local or systemic chemotherapy often results in severe gastrointestinal toxicity, particularly chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis (CIM) and cardiotoxicity, which severely reduces treatment efficacy, as it generates the need for dose-reduction or cesation of treatment. We are looking for enthousiastic postdoctoral researchers that are interested in working on (part of these) these research questions and want to apply together with us for funding at the MSCA postdoctoral fellowships. 

You will be joining an international, multidisciplinary and collaborative research team lead by three PI´s, covering different research angles around cancer, chemotherapy and its side-effects. Depending on your research interests, we can find an angle that fits within our ongoing and future projects. Together, our aim is to increase the mechanistic understanding of chemotoxicity and chemoresistance, improve treatment response and reduce side-effects in different organs.

Relevant and recent publications from our collaborative group include:

Inhibiting the endoplasmic reticulum stress response enhances the effect of doxorubicin by altering the lipid metabolism of liver cancer cells -https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38030123/

Anakinra and dexamethasone treatment of idarubicin-induced mucositis and diarrhoea in rats - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36878867/

Influence of extracellular matrix composition on tumour cell behaviour in a biomimetic in vitro model for hepatocellular carcinoma - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36639512/

Inhibiting IRE1α-endonuclease activity decreases tumor burden in a mouse model for hepatocellular carcinoma -  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33103995/

Supervisors:

Assoc. Prof. Femke Heindryckx

Assoc. Prof. Markus Sjöblom

Prof. Hans Lennernäs

Eligibility criteria

MSCA-PF are for Postdoctoral Researchers of up to 8 years after the PhD. Applicants from any country may apply, but must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Sweden for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the submission deadline to the European Commission (11/09/2024). 

Selection process

Applicants should check that they fulfil all the eligibility criteria and then send an expression of interest consisting of a CV, a summary presentation of the research proposal (maximum 2 pages) and the contact information of at least two referees.

1. Expressions of interest must be submitted by email to Femke Heindryckx by May 24^th. The title of the e-mail must be "MSCA application –– your name and surname". 

These proposals will be preselected on the basis of internal evaluation by the three above-mentioned supervisors. The selected candidates will, in cooperation with the supervisors, write an application to be submitted in the 2024 MSCA call, with Uppsala University (Sweden) as the host institution.

How will we support

In addition to receiving multiple feedback rounds from the supervisor(s), if chosen to submit the proposal to the European Commission, you will also receive advice from a dedicated research advisor. We will try our best to assist you with the proposal and submission process!