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?
You will be part of a friendly and highly experienced team that combines the structural studies with biophysical experiments that explore connected functional aspects. For this, we use a wide range of tools comprising molecular biology, biophysics, spectroscopic methods (EPR, fluorescence) as well as membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS). You will have the opportunity to learn these techniques and you may also get the chance to participate in snap-shot crystallography experiments at x-ray free electron lasers or molecular dynamics calculations.
The postdoctoral scholarship holder will have the opportunity to:
- Collect and analyse high-resolution cryo-EM structures of photosystem II under various conditions and in different illumination states.
- Participate in complementary biophysical and/or computational studies.
- Be trained in manuscript and grant writing.
- Become part of an extended international research network.
Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.
Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree before that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organisations, military service or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
The doctoral degree should be within Structural Biology, Biophysics, Biochemistry or equivalent. Additional requirements are experience in structural biology, data processing or studies of photosynthetic water oxidation.
Meriting criteria are:
- A strong background in cryo-EM, including microscope handling, sample preparation, data collection and structural model building
- Background in biophysics or engineering
- Experience in data management
- Experience with handling photosynthetic samples
- Experience in growing cyanobacteria and isolation of photosynthetic proteins
- Experience in manuscript writing and presentation of scientific data.
We are looking for candidates who are highly motivated, organized and able to work in teams. You must be very good in communicating (speaking and writing) in English due to the international environment in the institute and international collaborations, as well as for publishing your work in high-level journals.
Application
The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi following this link: https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/postdoctoral-scholarships/postdoctoral-scholarship-2-years-within-cryo-em-of-photosynthetic-protein-complexes-_831831/. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of the above page.
A full application should include:
- Cover letter (max 2 pages) in which you specify how your previous experience relates to the advertised scholarship and why you are interested in the research project,
- Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list,
- Copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
- Copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
- Copy of PhD thesis and/or relevant publications,
- Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
- Contact information to 2-3 persons willing to act as references.
The closing date is 1 September 2025.
Contact
Further information can be obtained from Johannes Messinger, Department of Plant Physiology, e-mail:
About the Research Environment at UPSC
The Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC). UPSC is a centre of excellence for experimental plant research and forest biotechnology in Northern Sweden. Our mission is to perform excellent and innovative basic research and generate knowledge that benefits forestry, agriculture, environment and society. We work across a wide range of disciplines in plant science reaching from cell biology to ecophysiology and from basic research to industrial applications. Our common goal is to understand the plants’ ability to grow, adapt and acclimate to a changing world and how we can breed better plants.
UPSC belongs to two universities, Umeå University and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). About 200 people from more than 40 different nationalities work here. We host some 30 principal investigators, and our researchers have access to state-of-the-art analytical platforms, unique tree germplasm resources and plant growth facilities. We strive for a collaborative work environment and support our scientists throughout all career stages by providing professional training opportunities and individual career mentoring.
Umeå has a strong postdoc community organised in the Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS). UPS fosters networking amongst postdocs, organises social and career development events and works towards improving the postdoc experience in Umeå. Check out their website https://umeapostdocs.com/ and do not hesitate to get in contact with them!
We look forward to receiving your application!