Doctoral (PhD) student position in developmental neuroscience Karolinska Institutet in Sweden

Karolinska Institutet is offering a doctoral (PhD) student position in developmental neuroscience within Eric Herlenius’ research group at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Center for Molecular Medicine. The project is co-supervised by Michael Hagemann-Jensen and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The research focuses on the development and dysfunction of cardiorespiratory and autonomic control, with particular attention to how brainstem neural networks, inflammation, and inflammatory signalling contribute to breathing disorders in newborns and children. The doctoral project aims to study perinatal development and regulation of vital cardiorespiratory brainstem neural networks, and to define cellular and molecular mechanisms governing respiratory development, including the effects of inflammation and birth-related transitions.

The work combines rodent models with advanced molecular approaches, including single-cell RNA sequencing, Smart-seq3xpress, spatial transcriptomics, MERSCOPE, TRISCO, and computational integration of single-cell and spatial transcriptomic datasets. A key part of the project is the analysis of multi-modal datasets and the development of bioinformatics workflows using statistical and deep-learning-based approaches. The student will work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment with expertise in single-cell and spatial genomics, developmental neuroscience, and cardiorespiratory physiology.

The doctoral student will formulate research questions and hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, analyze complex datasets, complete doctoral courses, write scientific manuscripts, and communicate results to specialist and non-specialist audiences. The position is particularly suitable for a candidate with strong bioinformatics and programming skills and an interest in computational biology, developmental neuroscience, and transcriptomic analysis.

Eligibility requirements include a second-cycle/master degree or equivalent, along with English proficiency equivalent to English B/English 6. The ideal applicant should have a background in bioinformatics, computational biology, molecular biology, biomedicine, biotechnology, neuroscience, or a related field; solid knowledge of molecular and cellular biology; experience analysing biological or genomic data; and programming experience in R and Python. Helpful additional experience includes single-cell RNA-seq, spatial transcriptomics, transcriptomic or multi-omics analysis, Linux/Unix environments, large-scale sequencing datasets, developmental biology, cardiorespiratory physiology, microscopy, and prior research experience.

The position is a doctoral studentship for up to 4 years full-time and includes a contractual monthly salary. Karolinska Institutet describes itself as a creative, internationally connected environment with access to courses, research infrastructure, and benefits such as a free gym and reimbursement for medical care.

Application deadline: 2026-09-09. Applications should be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system and should include a personal letter, CV, degree projects and publications if available, proof of eligibility, and any other documents demonstrating the desired skills and qualities.