Home → Blog → News items

Our research group led by Professor Riitta Lahesmaa is based at Turku Bioscience Centre (the Centre), BioCity Turku, Turku, Finland.  We are seeking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to work in a two-year project funded by The Finnish Research Impact Foundation. During the project the postdoctoral researcher will have an opportunity to work about half of the time also in Orion in Turku with Orion’s Immuno-oncology team.Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and the number of cases eligible for immunotherapies are steadily rising. T cells infiltrate the tumor site and launch cytotoxic responses against cancer cells. However, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment prevents anti-tumor immune responses. In this project our research group in Turku Bioscience will collaborate with the immuno-oncology team in Orion aiming at discovering novel mechanisms responsible for insufficient anti-tumor T-cell responses. Our ambition is to find new means to modulate T-cell responses and identify patients suitable for such innovative therapeutic approaches in the future. A range of methods including single-cell genomics and computational tools will be used to address the questions.

Apply between 4 July 2024 and 19 August 2024 16:00 (Europe/Helsinki). Full call text (Job ID 20435) and electronic application system can be found from the following link: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

Who we are looking for

  • A relevant doctor’s degree in immunology, life sciences or in biomedicine
  • High level of motivation, self-initiative and independency
  • Excellent team work and communication skills
  • Excellent language skills in English (both oral and written)
  • First-rate immunology knowledge and skills with a strong background in epigenetics and molecular and cell biology
  • Strong publication record in international journals at least in one of the
    following areas: immunology, onco-immunology, autoimmunity, epigenetics.

The salary is determined by the collective agreement system of the Finnish
universities. These positions belong to our research personnel and the
salary will be as follows:  a Postdoctoral Researcher  3450 – 3800
eur/month in average. The position starts on Jan 1st, 2025. The position
is initially for two years, with an optional extension. There is a
trial period of six months.

Please include a CV, full publication list, list of selected publications and contact information for three
references in your application.

For further information please contact: Prof. Riitta Lahesmaa, e-mail: riitta.lahesmaa (at)utu.fi .

Enquiries on the application procedure may be directed to HR Specialist Paula Luoma paula.luoma(at)utu.fi

During 87.2024 – 31.7.2024 the application enquiries will be answered by our central HR services at hr-tuki(at)utu.fi.

Benefits

  • A dynamic, international work environment
  • Access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources
  • Flexible work hours and Nordic-style work-life balance
  • Support for continuous professional development
  • Collaborative and inclusive work culture

Description of our organizations

Turku Bioscience Centre is a joint research institute of University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The mission of the Centre is to promote high quality research and training. The Centre has excellent
state-of-the-art technology platforms and expertise in single-cell omics, NGS, epigenomics, proteomics, computational biology and high-end cell imaging and cytometry.

Orion Immuno-Oncology (IO) Team led is by Dr. Anil Thotakura.  IO team is accountable for innovative drug discovery projects, identification of clinical unmet need, identification & experimental validation of potential IO drug targets within state-of-the-art laboratories and technologies.

Turku Bioscience Centre

Turku Bioscience is an advanced core facility and research centre hosted jointly by University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. Our aim is to provide complete packages of service expertise and know-how to provide both academic and corporate research groups the tools and means to shorten
the runway from an initial discovery to the take-off of a success story. To this end, we aim to stay at the frontiers of new technologies and research and we are also actively facilitating interactions and joint
projects between academia and industry.

The University of Turku is an inspiring and international academic community of 25,000 students
and staff in Southwest Finland. We build a sustainable future with multidisciplinary research, education, and collaboration. With us, your work will have a significant impact and relevance in the changing world.

See our open vacancies

Disorders in immune system and lymphocyte function lead to immune diseases or cancer.  We aim at studying the molecular mechanisms underlying immune mediated diseases aiming at enabling individualized treatment in the future.

Projects

Molecular Systems Immunology group aims at understanding the regulation of human immune system to predict, prevent and treat immune mediated disorders. We study epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of T cells and molecular mechanisms of immune mediated diseases such as Type 1 Diabetes.

Project 1. is focused on studying how the novel long noncoding RNAs we have identified influence human T cell differentiation and their role in autoimmune diseases and cancer (Andrabi et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 121:e2315363121, 2024 PMID: 38805281, Khan et al. Front. Immunol., 13: 856762, 2022 PMID: 35784351 and unpublished results).

Project 2. in collaboration with Orion Pharma Immuno-Oncology team studies molecular basis of human T cell exhaustion in cancer (Brunell et al. Front Immunol 14:1151632, 2023 PMID: 37122741 and unpublished results). A range of methods including single-cell genomics, mass cytometry, proteomics and CRISPR-Cas9 will be used in experimental work along with computational tools to address the questions.

Apply between 5 July 2024 and 19 August 2024 16:00 (Europe/Helsinki). Full call text (Job ID 20439) and electronic application system can be found from the following link: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

Who we are looking for

  • Master’s degree in immunology, life sciences, biomedicine or other relevant field
  • High level of motivation, self-initiative and independency
  • Excellent team work and communication skills
  • Excellent language skills in English (both oral and written)
  • First-rate immunology and epigenetics knowledge and skills with a strong background in molecular and cell biology.
  • Publication record in international journals in at least in one of the following areas: immunology, molecular and cellular biology, autoimmunity, genetics

The salary is determined by the collective agreement system of the Finnish universities. These positions belong to our research personnel and the salary will be  2440 – 2800 eur/month in average.The position starts on Oct 1st, 2024 (or as agreed). The project researcher position is initially for two years. For a doctoral researcher 1-2 optional years are possible. There is a trial period of six months.

Please include a CV, full publication list, list of selected publications and contact information for three references in your application.

For further information please contact: Prof. Riitta Lahesmaa, e-mail: riitta.lahesmaa (at)utu.fi .

Enquiries on the application procedure may be directed to HR Specialist Paula Luoma paula.luoma(at)utu.fi

During 87.2024 – 31.7.2024 the application enquiries will be answered by our central HR services at hr-tuki(at)utu.fi.

Benefits

  • A dynamic, international work environment
  • Access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources
  • Flexible work hours and Nordic-style work-life balance
  • Support for continuous professional development
  • Collaborative and inclusive work culture

Description of our organizations

Turku Bioscience Centre is a joint research institute of University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The mission of the Centre is to promote high quality research and training. The Centre has excellent state-of-the-art technology platforms and expertise in single-cell omics, NGS, epigenomics, proteomics, computational biology and high-end cell imaging and cytometry.

Orion Immuno-Oncology (IO) Team led is by Dr. Anil Thotakura.  IO team is accountable for innovative drug discovery projects, identification of clinical unmet need, identification & experimental validation of potential IO drug targets within state-of-the-art laboratories and technologies.

Turku Bioscience Centre

Turku Bioscience is an advanced core facility and research centre hosted jointly by University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. Our aim is to provide complete packages of service expertise and know-how to provide both academic and corporate research groups the tools and means to shorten the runway from an initial discovery to the take-off of a success story. To this end, we aim to stay at the frontiers of new technologies and research and we are also actively facilitating interactions and joint projects between academia and industry.

The University of Turku is an inspiring and international academic community of 25,000 students and staff in Southwest Finland. We build a sustainable future with multidisciplinary research, education, and collaboration. With us, your work will have a significant impact and relevance in the changing world.

See our open vacancies

Professor or Associate Professor

At the Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Biomedicine, there is 1, potentially 2, permanent positions (100%) available as Professor or Associate Professor of Biomedicine.

We are seeking a colleague who, together with the staff at the department, will contribute to excellence in research and teaching. The department has five research units, which are divided into 22 research groups.

Research at our department is centered around fundamental questions in human medicine and biomedicine. The main focus areas include cancer research, physiology, neuroscience, drug discovery, metabolism, disease mechanisms, proteomics, biomarkers, cardiovascular research, the relationship between structure and function of macromolecules, and the biology of the extracellular matrix.

Our teaching covers the 1st and 2nd years of the medical and dentistry programs, the Master’s in Biomedicine, PhD courses, as well as courses in dental care, pharmacy, and nutrition.

The successful candidate will become part of one of the five existing research units and will share the technical support available in this unit. Typically, there are 2-3 technical positions per research unit. Additionally, the department has extensive laboratory space available for wet lab research. The position’s time is equally divided between research and teaching-related tasks, with a smaller portion allocated to administrative tasks.

We are looking for someone in an active phase of their career, with significant expertise in a research field relevant to the department. For one of the positions, outstanding research in the field of cancer will be considered an advantage. Similarly, teaching competence in human physiology will also be considered beneficial.

To apply, click here.

The minutes of the 2024 General Assembly of DIS are available here: Referat 2024

A doctoral (PhD) student position in normal and malignant hematopoiesis is available at Karolinska Institutet in the group of Dr. Joakim Dahlin.

For more information and to apply, click here.

Our research group ( https://www.btk.fi/research/molecular-systems-immunology/ ) led by Professor Riitta Lahesmaa is based at Turku Bioscience Centre (the Centre), BioCity Turku, Turku, Finland.  We are seeking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to work in a two-year project funded by The Finnish Research Impact Foundation. During the project the postdoctoral researcher will have an opportunity to work about half of the time also in Orion in Turku with Orion’s Immuno-oncology team.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and the number of cases eligible for immunotherapies are steadily rising. T cells infiltrate the tumor site and launch cytotoxic responses against cancer cells. However, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment prevents anti-tumor immune responses. In this project our research group in Turku Bioscience will collaborate with the immuno-oncology team in Orion aiming at discovering novel mechanisms responsible for insufficient anti-tumor T-cell responses. Our ambition is to find new means to modulate T-cell responses and identify patients suitable for such innovative therapeutic approaches in the future. A range of methods including single-cell genomics and computational tools will be used to address the questions.

Turku Bioscience Centre is a joint research institute of University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The mission of the Centre is to promote high quality research and training. The Centre has excellent state-of-the-art technology platforms and expertise in single-cell omics, NGS, epigenomics, proteomics, computational biology and high-end cell imaging and cytometry.

Orion Immuno-Oncology (IO) Team led by Dr. Anil Thotakura.  Immuno-Oncology is one of the three Research teams in Orion’s Oncology R&D. IO team is accountable for novel drug novel drug discovery projects, identification of unmet need, identifcication & experimental validation of potential IO drug targets within state-of-the-art laboratories and technologies.

The deadline for applications is 10.12.2023 (23:59) or until a suitable candidate has been found.

Full call text (Job ID 20058 ) and electronic application system can be found from the following link: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

Senior researcher, Postdoctoral researcher or Project researcher position at

International multidisciplinary research group (https://www.btk.fi/research/molecular-systems-immunology/  ) led by

Professor Riitta Lahesmaa is based at Turku Bioscience Centre, BioCity Turku, Turku, Finland.

We are seeking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher, senior researcher or project researcher with possibility to

continue work as a doctoral researcher to pursue PhD. Molecular Systems Immunology group aims at understanding the regulation

of human immune system to predict, prevent and treat immune mediated disorders. We study epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of T cells and molecular mechanisms of immune mediated diseases such as Type 1 diabetes.

The project is focused on studying how the novel factors we have identified influence human T cell differentiation, function and

their role in autoimmune diseases and cancer. A range of methods including single-cell genomics, mass cytometry, proteomics and

CRISPR-Cas9 will be used in experimental work along with computational tools to address the questions.

The deadline for applications is 17.10.2023 (23:59) or until a suitable candidate has been found.

Full call text (Job ID 15119) and electronic application system can be found from the following link:

https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

A postdoc position is available in the lab of Dr. Srivi Swaminathan, Department of Systems Biology, City of Hope, California, to study how B-cell subsets are regulated by the hormone PRL in mice and patients with SLE. The postdoc will also contribute to ongoing Immuno-Oncology projects.

For more information, please click here.

The minutes of the 2023 General Assembly of DIS are available here: Referat 2023