Postdoctoral Position in Protein Solutions and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading universities. It has around 47,000 students and more than 8,800 employees in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the conditions of humanity.

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Subject Description

Protein-rich biocondensates of intrinsically disordered proteins have attracted significant interest in research over the past decade due to the many potential links between physical-chemical phase behavior and biological function in the intracellular medium.

Although experimental, simulation-based, and bioinformatics accounts are widespread and becoming increasingly established, a more fundamental understanding of soft materials and complex liquid concepts is still lacking. The related liquid-liquid phase separation has a long history in globular protein solutions, e.g., in eye lens fluid and antibody solutions, resulting in several fundamental and general results that have yet to be established for intrinsically disordered proteins.

Within this postdoctoral project, we aim for a comprehensive conceptual understanding of liquid-liquid phase separation in protein solutions and related phenomena such as equilibrium clusters/micellar phases and arrested phase separation. We plan for theory-oriented work, where we combine analytical modeling based on liquid theory and coarse-grained simulations to explain experimental phenomenology. Connection to experimental work is explicitly encouraged, and active participation in experiments can also be included in the project if desired.

The project will be conducted at Lund University, Department of Chemistry (KILU) and within the COMMONS Center of Excellence (www.physchem.lu.se/commons/), which brings together researchers from the universities of Lund, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg. The overarching goal of COMMONS is to provide a multifaceted scientific environment focusing on unifying physical-chemical processes of central importance for the function of biomolecular assemblies. Researchers within COMMONS conduct experimental and theoretical research on soft and biological materials. Significant work is devoted to protein self-organization and co-organization as well as interactions with other biomolecules. Furthermore, the project will be linked to the new theme SMILE (Soft Matter in Life) at the advanced institute for neutron and x-ray science LINXS (wwx.linxs.se), providing opportunities to reach out to the national and international soft matter community for collaboration and networking.

The project will be driven in collaboration between different groups, including Felix Roosen-Runge and Anna Stradner (Department of Physical Chemistry, Lund University). Connections to other experimental and theoretical groups within the COMMONS Center of Excellence for biomolecular assembly are possible and encouraged. Please contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) for more information and discussion on potential project ideas related to the research plan required for the application.

This postdoctoral position is also part of the EU co-funded research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological Imaging using European Research Infrastructures, which will address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging, from molecular and cellular levels to tissue, organ, and organism levels, and is coordinated by the LINXS Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science. AMBER is funded by the EU's Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND program. Approximately 15 postdoctoral researchers will be recruited in the fifth call in 2026, with each position lasting for 36 months.

AMBER has six partners: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines (IMOL), Poland, and Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, UK.

Your work may include clinical and biomedical projects. It may also involve technology development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated view of life processes related to health and disease. As a postdoctoral researcher in the AMBER program, you will gain unparalleled medical, biological, and methodological skills, with a profound potential impact on Europe's next generation of research and researchers. Upon completing the AMBER program, you will be exceptionally well-equipped to further your career in academia, within infrastructure, in the health and medical technology sectors, and more.

For more information on the total number of postdoctoral positions announced within the AMBER co-funding project, visit https://www.euraxess.se/jobs/392999 (https://www.euraxess.se/jobs/392999)

Interviews will begin in April/May 2026. For more information about AMBER, the application and evaluation process, etc., visit: ambercofund.eu (http://ambercofund.eu)

Job Responsibilities

The main job responsibilities for a postdoctoral position are to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to a maximum of 20% of the working time. The position should include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education pedagogy.

Detailed description of job responsibilities, such as:

• Research in the subject area
• Exploration of potential collaborative projects within the COMMONS Center of Excellence beyond the core project
• Active contribution to current discussions within the COMMONS Center of Excellence

At the Faculty of Science, research and education are conducted in biology, astronomy, physics, geoscience, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science. The activities are conducted at eight departments gathered within the northern university area. The faculty has about 1,500 students, 360 doctoral students, and 700 employees.

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