Stress Response Modeling Research School PhD Positions

Umeå University is a comprehensive university and one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with around 38,000 students and 4,600 staff. We have a diverse range of high-quality educational programmes and research within all disciplinary domains and the arts. The University offers world-class educational and research environments and helps expand knowledge of global significance. This is where the groundbreaking discovery was made of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. At Umeå University, everything is just around the corner. Our tightly knit campus makes it easy to meet, collaborate and share knowledge, something that encourages a dynamic and open culture. 

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Starting in the spring of 2025, Umeå University’s interdisciplinary research hub, IceLab, will offer doctoral positions through the new Stress Response Modelling Research School.  Funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Research Council’s centres of excellence, this research school focuses on modelling adaptive mechanisms in living systems under stress. It offers an extensive complexity science course package for doctoral students. 

This doctoral position presents a unique opportunity to join a cohort of other doctoral researchers in the research school and learn alongside each other in carefully designed courses that align with the excellence centre’s multidisciplinary theme.  

The program prepares next-generation computational biologists with strong complexity thinking and tools applicable to living systems across organizational scales, addressing major environmental and life sciences challenges.  

Courses will cover topics such as complexity science, mathematical modelling in evolution, ecology and plant biology, along with transferable skills, including interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. You will also be offered opportunities for research exchanges and form an integral part of the supportive and stimulating IceLab research environment.  

Join IceLab to work at the forefront of multidisciplinary science, integrating mathematical modelling and data science with diverse disciplines, including ecology, plant physiology, and molecular biology. Your research will deepen our understanding of how living systems respond to stress and environmental change, and we will help you grow and thrive in your scientific career. 

Read more about IceLab.

Terms of employment
The employment is expected to result in a doctoral degree and the main assignment for the doctoral student is thus to be active in research, study doctoral courses, and possibly participate in teaching of courses at undergraduate level. The financing time is limited to four years full time. Teaching and other departmental work (up to a maximum of 20%) can be included. The employment is limited to four years at full time or up to five years if teaching and other departmental work is performed. The salary is fixed according to the established salary level for doctoral students. 

Competence requirements
To be admitted for studies at the third-cycle level, the applicant is required to have completed a second-cycle level degree or completed course requirements of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are at the second-cycle level or have an equivalent education from abroad or equivalent qualifications.  

To fulfil the specific entry requirements to be admitted for studies at the third-cycle level in CSE, the applicant is required to have completed courses at least 90 ECTS credits in CSE courses, of which at least 30 credits shall have been acquired at the second-cycle level. CSE courses refer to applied mathematics, computer science, physics or relevant fields. The requirements do not need to be fulfilled at the time of application but only at the enrollment. 

Specific competence requirements for each PhD project are listed below.