Kalle Malmberg

Karolinska Institutet is recruiting a doctoral student to the Center for Immuno-Oncology at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology. The project focuses on the natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxic operating system: the interconnected intracellular programs that regulate NK-cell maturation, tumor killing, persistence, and resistance to tumor-associated stress. The Malmberg research group studies human NK-cell biology and develops next-generation NK-cell-based immunotherapies. The doctoral student will work with primary NK cells and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NK cells, combining single-cell transcriptomics, epigenetic profiling, computational modeling, genome engineering, high-resolution imaging, and functional tumor models. The project will compare iNK cells with highly functional naturally occurring NK-cell populations, engineer improved immune-cell states through CRISPR/Cas9 and other targeted genetic perturbations, and evaluate therapeutic potential in functional assays and preclinical models of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Particular emphasis will be placed on maturation, metabolic fitness, persistence, sustained cytotoxicity, and long-term antitumor activity. The research environment is interdisciplinary, integrating fundamental immunology, cancer biology, stem cell biology, computational biology, and translational cellular immunotherapy. The group collaborates closely with clinical and translational teams at Karolinska University Hospital and international research partners. The doctoral student will contribute to experimental design, data analysis, scientific interpretation, hypothesis development, publications, conferences, and doctoral coursework.