A postdoctoral scholarship is available at the Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre: a stimulating research environment at Umeå University. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate for Stéphane Verger´s research group, where the goal is to discover how plant cells build and reinforce the vital connection between their plasma membrane and cell wall.
Last day to apply: 22 June 2026
Project description
The goal of this project is to discover how plant cells build and reinforce the vital connection between their plasma membrane and cell wall.
Plant cells are surrounded by a strong but flexible structure called the cell wall. This wall gives the cell its shape and protects it, while also regulating growth, adhesion, cell-to-cell communication, and signaling. The plasma membrane is a key interface within which a variety of receptors and other protein sit, integrating and mediating signal transduction from the outside (cell wall) to the inside of the cell. This machinery critically depends on a robust and responsive connection between the plasma membrane and the surrounding cell wall. This tight contact is essential for healthy plant growth, development and stress adaptation.
The postdoctoral scholarship holder will have the opportunity to use advanced microfluidic, optical tweezers (c-trap) and live-cell microscopy, with mutants and fluorescent reporter lines, to characterize this adhesion and aim to discover the genes and dynamic processes that allow stable attachment at this essential interface.
Qualification
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.
Doctoral degree should be within molecular, cellular or developmental biology.
Additional requirements are:
- Advanced experience with microscopy.
- Some experience with microfluidics.
- Ability to structure and perform research independently.
- Excellent oral and writing skills in English.
Meriting criteria are:
- Experience with plants, protoplast or other living material in vitro.
- Experience studying plant cell wall, plasma membrane, actin dynamics, mechanosensing, membrane bound receptors or plasma membrane-cell wall connection.
- Skills in image processing, computational simulation, device control or programming in general.
- Experience with standard molecular biology techniques.
We are looking for candidates who have good social skills and the ability to function well both independently and in a team. We value creativity, drive and the ability to communicate and take initiative.
Application
The application should be written in English (preferably) or Swedish and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be submitted by the deadline June 22, 2026 by registering via the Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi: https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/postdoctoral-scholarships/postdoctoral-scholarship-2-years-within-plant-cell-adhesion-and-mechanosensing_933947/.
A full application should include:
- Cover letter (max 2 pages) in which you describe your qualifications, explain your fit for the project and state your motivations for this application.
- Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list.
- Verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained.
- Copy of doctoral thesis if available.
- Contact information to at least two persons willing to act as references.
- Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Stéphane Verger(
About the Research Environment at UPSC
The Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University, where the position will be located, 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 the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). About 200 people from more than 45 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!
About Umeå University
Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 41,500 students and about 4,600 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.
The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.
Are you interested in learning more? Read about Umeå university as a workplace
We look forward to receiving your application!