Position for PhD (or soon-to-be) is available in the laboratory of Professor Jukka Westermarck at Turku Bioscience, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. We are looking for highly motivated researcher with PhD degree to join our dynamic research group broadly focused on very exciting therapeutic potential of phosphatases for cancer therapy (
https://bioscience.fi/research/cancer-cell-signaling/profile/).
Glioblastoma is a devastating cancer type for which there are only very limited therapy options. Particular challenges related glioblastoma therapies are its heterogeneity, and high intrinsic therapy resistance of glioma stem cells. The research group of Professor Westermarck has recently identified novel therapeutic opportunities for killing the therapy-resistant cancer cells in vivo, based on pharmaceutical reactivation of tumor suppressor Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A), and its combinations with targeted therapies (Kaur et al., Cancer Res., 2016; Kauko et al., Science Translational Medicine, 2018; Merisaari et al., Brain Communications, 2020). Based on these discoveries, the new project will develop and assess preclinical glioblastoma combination therapies by using glioma stem cell bearing intracranial in vivo glioblastoma models. Therefore, successful applicants should be well-acquainted with modern cancer research techniques involving mouse work and tissue analysis. In addition, we value highly good English language skills, and team-working spirit. In the selection process we value greatly applicants with track record indicative of competence in independent scientific thinking and project management.
Turku Bioscience Centre is a top-quality research center harbouring several research groups with distinguished publication profile (
https://bioscience.fi). The centre harbours excellent core facilities (
https://bioscience.fi/services/). The working language in the research group, and in the institute, is English. Furthermore, BioCity Turku umbrella organization offers very high-quality research training including e.g. frequent seminars by world recognized speakers. Turku (
https://kissmyturku.com) is a charming medieval city in South-West coast of Finland with good connections to Helsinki and Stockholm.
Candidate requirement wish-list in nutshell:
- A relevant Doctoral Degree (or soon-to-be)
- At least one first author publication in high-quality journal
- Highly motivated person with strong interest in translational cancer research
- Hands-on experience in mouse work is a clear asset
For inquiries regarding this post or application process, please contact Jukka Westermarck by e-mail:
[email protected].
The deadline for applications is 31st of May 2020 and due to Covid-19 situation the position starting date is negotiable. Position is funded by Sigrid Juselius Foundation and is until 30th of April, 2023. The selected applicant will be receiving a monthly personal grant for post-doctoral research.
The application should include your CV, list of publications and a motivation letter clearly describing how your profile matches to candidate requirements listed above, and other previous achievements in the field. Also include names and contact information of three references. All this in a single merged PDF document should be sent to
[email protected]. In the subject line of your e-mail, indicate the following text: Post-doc position/Glioblastoma.
