The University of Helsinki is a leading university in Nordics and Europe and one of the top 100 international universities in the world. Doctoral student position is available in the Translational Pain Research group at Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, led by Academy of Finland Research Fellow Dr. Vinko Palada. Dr. Palada´s team investigates the bidirectional relationship between sleep and pain and circadian regulation of chronic pain by using the state-of-the-art methods such as high-throughput omics, molecular biology, drug library screens and the functional studies in experimental models. This is a new and exciting research field, with the goals to revolutionize our understanding of pain mechanisms and to develop novel therapies for pain relief. The group closely collaborates with Helsinki University Hospital and Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. In 2022, Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for 5th time in a row according to the annual World Happiness Report and was recently rated as the best country in the world for expat families.
Job description:
Neuropathic pain affects up to 8% of the general population and is one of the most challenging pain conditions to treat due to poor efficacy of the currently available drugs and comorbidities, particularly sleep disorders, which are insufficiently addressed in pain management. On the molecular level, both sleep and pain are under circadian control. As adaptation to 24h environment on Earth, our internal circadian clocks are reset daily to precisely 24h and disruptions in this pattern have been reported in sleep disorders, frequent in chronic pain. However, it is currently not known whether the clocks are disrupted also in painful conditions. The main aim is to access the effects of circadian disruption on pain intensity both in experimental models and in clinical cohorts. This may allow to establish the novel chronotherapeutic approaches for pain relief.
Key requirements:
We invite applications from highly qualified applicants with a MSc degree in neuroscience, biology and/or pharmacy/pharmacology. Previous experience in sleep and circadian research, expertise in animal work, EEG recordings, sleep scoring, surgical skills and behavioral tests are considered a strong merit for this position. Excellent communication and writing skills in English and ability to work in the international team setting are expected.
Application requirements:
Please send your application including a detailed CV (with a date of thesis defense, title of the thesis, previous academic/work positions, current position, academic distinctions and list of peer-reviewed publications), motivation letter (1 page) and three reference contacts as a single PDF file to the submission portal. The successful candidate is expected to apply for doctoral study rights in January 2023, for doctoral programme requirements please check the link.
Application deadline: December 19, 2022, 21:00 Helsinki time
Contract and work benefits:
Employments will start on January 1st 2023. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see here. The initial salaries are according to the salary system of the Finnish universities.