Karolinska Institutet PhD, Decoding Bone Metastasis – MSc, 9 Dec
Karolinska Institutet is offering a doctoral student position on decoding bone metastasis in Stockholm, Sweden. This Karolinska Institutet PhD is a four-year project in the Baryawno Lab, and a master’s degree is required. The application deadline is 9 December 2026.
- Position: Doctoral (PhD) student – Decoding bone metastasis
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Research Area: Bone metastasis in high-risk neuroblastoma (Baryawno Lab)
- Qualification: Master’s degree (or 240 credits, with 60 at master’s level)
- Application Deadline: 9 December 2026
About The University
Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm is one of the world’s leading medical universities and Sweden’s largest centre for academic medical research. In addition, its Nobel Assembly awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Karolinska Institutet PhD Job Description
The Baryawno laboratory at BioClinicum, Stockholm, is part of the Division of Pediatric Oncology and Pediatric Surgery in the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health. Its research focuses on neuroblastoma, a highly metastatic childhood tumour, using basic, translational and clinical approaches.
This four-year, in vivo–intensive project is part of the programme “Decoding the metastatic cascade to bone”. In addition, In high-risk neuroblastoma, about half of patients have bone marrow metastases at diagnosis. Moreover, The project aims to find which tumour clones seed bone, how the bone niche shapes them, and which niche-dependent weaknesses can be targeted with therapy.
Karolinska Institutet PhD – Key Responsibilities
- Work extensively with mouse models of metastasis.
- In addition, combine cell-barcode lineage tracing with single-cell RNA-seq and in vivo CRISPR activation screens.
- Also, map pre-metastatic niche remodelling in the bone marrow of xenograft-bearing mice.
- Perform in vivo CRISPR loss-of-function screens in bone-metastasising xenografts.
The student will be mentored by Dr Ninib Baryawno, with co-supervisors Dr Kasper Karlsson, Professor Daniel Bexell, Dr Jakob Stenman and Dr Thale Olsen.
Educational Requirements and Eligibility For Karolinska Institutet PhD
- A master’s degree, or at least 240 credits with at least 60 at master’s level, or equivalent knowledge gained in Sweden or abroad, by the application deadline.
- English proficiency equivalent to English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary level.
Skills and Qualifications
- Willingness to perform and learn animal procedures, such as tumour cell injections, minor surgery and bioluminescence imaging.
- Also, hands-on experience with preclinical in vivo mouse models of cancer is a merit.
- A laboratory animal science course (for example FELASA) is a strong merit but not required.
- Moreover, experience with paediatric or neuronal cancers and a solid background in molecular and cell biology are highly valued.
- Experience with organoids, CRISPR screening, single-cell RNA-seq, spatial transcriptomics, flow cytometry or bioinformatics is a benefit.
- Good English communication skills and the ability to work in a project team.
Salary and Benefits
For this Karolinska Institutet PhD role, the official notification does not state the salary. Check the employer’s listing for current pay and benefits details.
If you have a master’s degree and want to build a career in cancer biology and in vivo research, this Karolinska Institutet PhD is an excellent opportunity. Additionally, apply through the official link before 9 December 2026. Furthermore, you can also explore this related opening: Aarhus University Postdoc in Immunology & Fibrosis – PhD, by 26 Nov.
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