Doctoral candidate position available in Folkhälsan Research Center and University of Helsinki located in Meilahti campus
24.2.2020This opportunity has arisen through Dr. Shintaro Katayama as a junior PI supported by Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The joint research groups with Professor Juha Kere are base in the Folkhälsan Research Center at Helsinki, Research Programs Unit at University of Helsinki, and Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet. The focus of the work is aimed at understanding where and when RNAs are regulated in various human developmental stages [*1] or the cell types [*2] to understand the disease [*3] or to use the deregulated RNAs for diagnosis [*4]. For the aim, the groups are willing also to develop new molecular and/or bioinformatics methods [*5, 6, 7].
As part of the joint research groups, there is a position available for a PhD candidate studying RNA (not DNA) editing in human normal epidermal cells and the model cells using high-throughput sequencing at Folkhälsan Research Center and University of Helsinki. The main duties will involve the establishment of a genome-scale analysis pipeline or tools to map the RNA editing sites in human cells using a nanopore sequencer as well as computational analysis of the experimental results. The analysis includes the integration of the other experimental results using other equipment or methods to investigate the association between gene expression and RNA editing.
The successful candidates should have (or be close to completed) an MSc in Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Systems Biology, Computational Biology or a related field. Experiences of an open-source software package development will be plus. Applicants interested in any of the above research areas will be considered.
Please send your application to shintaro.katayama(at)folkhalsan.fi latest Sunday March 15 2020. Please include a brief letter motivating your interest and goals, a CV (2 pages, specifying your education and expertise in the topics listed above), and a list of possible previous publications. The selection processes will be conducted in April and the post is available from summer 2020. The funds for this position are available for 24 months in the first instance.
Selected publications:
*1 Töhönen, V. & Katayama, S. et al. Nat Commun 6, 8207 (2015).
*2 Hirabayashi, S. & Bhagat, S. et al. Nat Genet 51, 1369–1379 (2019).
*3 Katayama, S. & Panelius, J. et al. J. Invest. Dermatol. 139, 2058–2061.e4 (2019).
*4 Katayama, S. & Hammar, KS. et al. Eur. Respir. J. 55, 1901330 (2020).
*5 Katayama, S. et al. J. Bioinformatics 29, 2943–2945 (2013).
*6 Krjutškov, K. & Katayama, S. et al. Hum. Reprod. 31, 844–853 (2016).
*7 Katayama, S. et al. BMC Bioinformatics 20, 418–9 (2019).