Researchers at Karolinska Institutet awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowships
Two Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships and a Walter-Benjamin-Postdoctoral Fellowship (German Research foundation, DFG) have been granted to outstanding early-career scientists at the Division of Molecular Metabolism (MolMet) at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics. The fellowships are highly competitive and prestigious.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Postdoctoral fellow: Julia Vorhauser
Principal investigator: Anna Wredenberg, Professor, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics
Dr. Julia Vorhauser has been awarded a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project MitoSwitch, which aims to functionally characterise redox switches in mitochondrial metabolism. The project will explore how reactive oxygen species, produced by mitochondria, regulate mitochondrial activity. Under the supervision of Prof. Anna Wredenberg, this research aims to uncover mechanisms that fine-tune mitochondrial metabolism and cellular energy production. These insights may ultimately contribute to a better understanding of mitochondrial dysfunction in human diseases.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Postdoctoral fellow: Vlad‑Julian Piljukov
Principal investigator: Dr. Joanna Rorbach, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics
Dr. Vlad‑Julian Piljukov has been awarded a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship for DYNAMITE, a project that will investigate how mitochondrial protein synthesis is initiated and regulated. The work addresses fundamental gaps in our understanding of mitochondrial translation, a process essential for cellular energy production and homeostasis.
Under the supervision of Dr. Joanna Rorbach, Dr. Piljukov will combine biochemical kinetics with time‑resolved cryo‑electron microscopy to map the molecular sequence of events that govern translation initiation and its transition into elongation. The project includes collaborations with researchers at Uppsala University and the University of Leeds with complementary expertise in ribosome kinetics and structural biology.
Walter-Benjamin-Postdoctoral Fellowship (DFG)
Postdoctoral fellow: Kristina Bubb
Principal investigator: Nils-Göran Larsson, Professor, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics
Dr. Kristina Bubb has been awarded a Walter Benjamin Fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to support her postdoctoral research on the spatial and temporal impact of mtDNA mutations on aging, under the supervision of Prof. Nils-Göran Larsson. The work will investigate how mtDNA mutations shape tissue-specific aging trajectories over time.
We warmly congratulate Julia, Vlad, and Kristina, as well as their supervisors, on this accomplishment and look forward to following the progress of their research projects!