UPSC is a highly dynamic institute with around 200 employees, 30 principal investigators and about 10 associated principal investigators. Approximately half of our staff is non-Swedish and the working language is English. We recruit researchers from all over the world. More than 40 nations are represented at UPSC. Post-doctoral fellows have the most diverse nationalities, but also our PIs, graduate and undergraduate students represent many different nations.
Are you interested in joining us? Please have a look below for currently open job opportunities. You are also always welcome to contact our principal investigators directly if you are interested in working with them.
Two Swedish Centres of Excellences; Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) and Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) at Umeå University are running the ‘Excellence by Choice’ Postdoctoral Programme in Life Science offering a highly interactive and multidisciplinary research environment. In this fifth call, up to two postdoctoral fellowships are open to all nationalities.
Last day to apply: 17 August 2025
The programme aims to encourage new synergies in life science with a focus on molecular and translational research, training outstanding young researchers, and stimulating cutting-edge research in Umeå. Patron for the programme is Nobel laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier, who discovered the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology during her time as a scientist and group leader in Umeå.
A position as a Staff scientist in Bioinformatics and Data Science at the Department of Plant Physiology, which is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre, is now available.
Last day to apply: August 31, 2025
Job Description
As a national hub for molecular biosciences in Sweden, SciLifeLab develops and maintains unique research infrastructure, services and data resources for life science. The overall aim of SciLifeLab is to facilitate cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary life science research and promote its translation to the benefit of society. About 200 research groups, 1500 researchers and 40 national infrastructure units are associated with SciLifeLab with nodes across Sweden.
We are looking for an outstanding candidate with expertise in machine learning, bioinformatics or advanced statistical methods, to help explore molecular, imaging, clinical and/or epidemiological data. You will apply, adapt and develop machine learning approaches to provide data analysis support to data-driven Swedish research projects of scientific excellence, as well as being a driver of advanced postgraduate data analytics training on a national level.
The postdoctoral scholarship will be placed at the Department of Plant Physiology (Umeå University), that is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre. We seek a highly motivated candidate for this project in Olivier Keech's research group.
The Department of Plant Physiology is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project ‘Regulation of energy metabolism by the 26S proteasome’. The scholarship refers to full-time studies for two years, starting October 1, 2025, or according to agreement. The last day for application is September 1, 2025.
The Carl Tryggers Foundation (CTS24-3637) funds this two-year postdoctoral scholarship. The scholarship amounts to 336 000 SEK per year and is not subject to tax. The grant also provides an additional 106 000 SEK per year of running costs. The PI covers the additional running costs for the project.
Last day to apply: 1 September 2025
Project description
In eukaryotic cells, mitochondria have essential functions supporting the energy metabolism. In plants, and notably in leaves, mitochondria contribute to the production of ATP, provision of intermediates for biosynthetic pathways as well as to redox regulations. As metabolic hubs, their role in the cell’s adaptation to sub-optimal or stress conditions is crucial. However, our understanding of the role played by mitochondria in integrating and regulating the cell’s response to certain stresses remains incomplete, and a better characterisation of the signalling and regulatory mechanisms controlling sub-cellular metabolism is necessary.
The project aims to increase our understanding of mitochondrial functions in cellular metabolism, particularly during leaf senescence, and subsequent cell death. The main scientific approach will be based on the study of mutant/ transgenic plants affected in their 26S proteasome system. The research project will include molecular and biochemical approaches, cell biology (confocal laser microscopy) as well as physiological studies at the whole plant level. Applications of several -omics methods will be important and will be made in collaboration with several facilities.
The postdoctoral scholarship will be placed at the Department of Plant Physiology (Umeå University), that is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre. We seek a highly motivated candidate for this project in Jian-Feng Mao's research group.
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation (KAW) funds this two-year postdoctoral scholarship. The scholarship amounts to 348 000 SEK per year and is not subject to tax. The PI covers running costs for the project. The scholarship is full-time for two years with access during the fall of 2025 or according to agreement.
Last day to apply: 1 September 2025
Project description
What if we could decode the hidden language within plant genomes that controls their resilience to climate change, their growth patterns, and their ability to feed our growing population? Beyond the protein-coding genes we've traditionally studied lies an unexplored frontier of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) – mysterious genetic elements that don't create proteins but profoundly influence how plants develop and respond to their environment. Our research group has pioneered computational tools to identify these genetic elements, but we're now ready to make a quantum leap forward using the revolutionary power of artificial intelligence.
The postdoctoral scholarship will be placed at the Department of Plant Physiology (Umeå University), that is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre. We seek a highly motivated candidate for this project in Johannes Messinger's research group.
The Department of Plant Physiology is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project ‘High-resolution structures of Photosystem II’. The scholarship refers to full-time studies for two years, starting October 1, 2025, or according to agreement. The last day for application is September 1, 2025.
The Kempe Foundation (JCSMK24-599) funds this two-year postdoctoral scholarship. The scholarship amounts to 360 000 SEK per year and is not subject to tax. The grant from Kempe also funds 260 000 SEK per year of running costs. The PI covers the additional running costs for the project.
Last day to apply: 1 September 2025
Project description
This project has a focus on improving our knowledge about the mechanism of water oxidation to molecular oxygen in photosynthesis. This will be done by obtaining structures of photosystem II at different excitation states and conditions, including point mutations, and of different organisms. Specific research questions include: What are the protonation states of amino acids under different conditions? What is the role of protein dynamics in photosynthetic water oxidation and quinone reduction?
An appointment as Associate Senior Lecturer in plant physiology /Assistant Professor (tenure-track) with focus on plant embryo development is available at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå. The department is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre. This recruitment is part of an excellence initiative – SLU Futures – which aims to attract and support promising young researchers within the strategic themes of Future Sustainable Plant Production Systems, Resilient Ecosystems, and One Health.
Last day to apply: September 15, 2025
Faculty of Forest Sciences - The Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
The objective of the SLU Futures initiative is to create conditions for successful research in future-oriented, strong academic environments through long-term employment. Read more here https://www.slu.se/slu-futures
The department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology within the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) is a world-leading environment integrating experimental plant biology and forest biotechnology research. UPSC has strong platforms for plant growth, microscopy, metabolomics and conifer genomics. UPSC has one of the largest facilities in the world for tree transformation, including a facility for somatic embryogenesis and transformation of Norway spruce, important tools for all basic research connecting genes to gene function.
Read more about the department and UPSC at www.upsc.se/.
Subject Area
The subject area is plant physiology with focus on plant embryo development.
https://www.upsc.se/undergraduate/1430-undergraduate-education.html
UPSC group leaders: https://www.upsc.se/research/research-groups.html
UPSC associated group leaders: https://www.upsc.se/research/associated-research-groups.html