This PhD position at Karolinska Institutet offers an exciting opportunity to advance translational research in peripheral vascular disease, focusing on novel mechanisms and biomarkers. The successful candidate will join the Translational Vascular Medicine group, led by Associate Professor Ljubica Matic, within the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery. The group is renowned for its expertise in atherosclerosis, vascular injury, and translational science, and is integrated with the Vascular Surgery research unit, which treats the highest volume of PAD patients in Sweden.

The research environment is multidisciplinary, situated at the interface of academia, clinic, and pharma industry, with access to resources in human biobanking, omics data, imaging, animal surgery, and molecular biology. The project leverages large biobanks of human and murine vascular tissues and patient data, enabling multi-modal analyses of genes, proteins, and metabolites, combined with clinical, epidemiological, and imaging parameters. Functional studies in animal and cell culture models further support the research.

The doctoral project aims to elucidate differences and commonalities in mechanisms, clinical features, and outcomes among patients with carotid, cerebral, and lower limb arterial disease. The student will be trained in ethical permit writing, clinical sampling, biobanking, and GDPR-compliant data handling. Research tasks include bioinformatic analyses of human omics data, biostatistics, clinical and epidemiological data analysis, outcome modeling using AI-assisted algorithms, and multi-modal data integration. The group provides established computational pipelines and support from senior researchers.

Experimental work will involve systematic, large-scale histological analyses of biobanked tissues, contributing to the project's translational potential for improved risk prediction and personalized medicine in PAD. The candidate will benefit from a creative and inspiring environment, international collaborations, and opportunities for research visits abroad. Karolinska Institutet is a world-leading medical university, offering a wide range of medical education and successful research programs.

Eligibility requires a master’s degree or equivalent, proficiency in English, and documented skills in medical vascular disease, biobanking, big-data analysis, bioinformatics, and statistics. The ideal candidate is highly motivated, capable of independent and team research, and possesses strong social, organisational, and analytical skills. The position is full-time for up to four years, with a contractual salary, access to a modern gym, and medical care reimbursements.

Applications should be submitted via the Varbi recruitment system, including a personal letter, CV, degree projects, publications, and documentation of eligibility and skills. The deadline is March 26, 2026. For further information, contact Associate Professor Ljubica Matic or visit the group’s academic pages.