Often cited as the land of a thousand lakes, Finland is a progressive European country with an unrivalled quality of life. These characteristics extend to scientific research and education, where the University of Helsinki has a longstanding reputation in neuroscience and mitochondrial medicine. We are located just 12 minutes from the heart of Helsinki, a vibrant European capital in a country of contrasts.
We welcome targeted applications at all levels, from undergraduate to beyond the post-doctoral!
Targeted enquiries by e-mails are most welcome. Generic, undirected or bulk template e-mails will not be considered.
Our laboratory is located in the Faculty of Medicine, at Biomedicum Helsinki based in the Academic Medical Campus Helsinki, in the Meilahti district. This spacious development affords us direct access to the state-of-the-art equipment for our multidisciplinary research requirements in cell biology, microscopy, biochemistry, metabolism and translational neuroscience. We are a member of the Translational Stem Cell Biology & Metabolism Program (STEMM). STEMM is part of the Research Programs Unit: a critical mass of competitive research groups in Helsinki selected every six years by international peer-review panel evaluation. We are also an associate laboratory of FinMIT (Finnish Centre of Excellence for Mitochondrial and Metabolism Research), and a partner laboratory of HiMET: the Helsinki Consortium on Metabolism and Nutrition. We enjoy major collaborative links internationally, and locally with leading mitochondrial and neuroscience groups in Medicine/Life Sciences. At any career level, this is a fantastic location for a period of productive and focused scientific research, in a burgeoning field!
Prospective Post-doctoral candidates interested in autophagy, neuroscience, metabolism and mitochondria are always encouraged to enquire about joining the lab. Potential candidates who wish to pursue a competitive fellowship are particularly welcome to get in touch directly with Dr. McWilliams, well in advance of application deadlines. Please send a research statement of interests and CV detailing experience, publications and career ambitions. Please arrange to have forwarded three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from your current supervisor (unless circumstances do not permit this). Irrespective of any professional qualifications or accolades, a collegial attitude and excellent interpersonal skills are pre-requisites to join our research team. Post-doctoral interviews are held in defined stages and will include an in-person panel interview assessment before any offer is made.
Postgraduate positions: We always welcome applications from interested students, either for MSc or PhD projects. Funded doctoral scholarships at the University of Helsinki are highly competitive and can be accessed via doctoral schools. If you are interested in coming to the laboratory, it is highly advised to make contact well in advance. Ideally, candidates should hold/expect to be awarded a relevant degree at the highest level in a biomedical/molecular discipline, and demonstrate clear interests in molecular cell biology, autophagy, neuroscience, mitochondrial biology or metabolism. Irrespective of any professional qualifications or accolades, a collegial attitude and excellent interpersonal skills are pre-requisites to join our research team. Previous laboratory research experience is highly advantageous but not essential.
Academic Medical Education and Clinical Fellows: Embedded within one of the best medical campuses in Europe, we are committed to contributing to training the next generation of research-active clinicians. We welcome MD or MD/PhD students with interests in autophagy in health and disease to enquire about potential experimental projects in the laboratory. Clinical Fellows interested in pursuing experimental PhD studies or post-doctoral research are also welcome to make informal contact by e-mail to Dr. McWilliams.