Postdoctoral fellowship/scholarship in evolutionary immunology and theoretical biology
Umeå University, Sweden
A 2-year interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship/scholarship is available through the IceLab Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Programme at Umeå University, Sweden.
Our project, listed as Project C in the joint advertisement, is titled:
Adaptive immunity as an evolutionary response to unforeseen stress
Why did adaptive immunity evolve despite its enormous biological costs?
This project will explore adaptive immunity as an evolutionary strategy for coping with uncertain future pathogenic threats. Adaptive immune systems generate diverse receptor repertoires and immune memory, but require substantial energetic investment, large immune cell populations, and mechanisms to avoid self-reactivity. The project asks under which ecological and evolutionary conditions such complex anticipatory defense systems become advantageous, and why immune systems differ so dramatically across species.
The fellowship is suitable for candidates interested in evolutionary biology, theoretical biology, mathematical modeling, computational biology, complex systems, immunology, host-pathogen interactions, stochastic processes, dynamical systems, or control theory.
The postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to develop mathematical and computational models of adaptive immune evolution, investigate trade-offs between immune protection and biological costs, and work in the interdisciplinary environment of IceLab at Umeå University.
The project is a collaboration between:
Ryo Morimoto
Department of Molecular Biology and Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University
ryo.morimoto@umu.se
Eric Libby
Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics and IceLab, Umeå University
eric.libby@umu.se
The full advertisement and application information are available here:
https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/postdoctoral-scholarships/three-multidisciplinary-postdoctoral-scholarships-2-years-_950146/
Application deadline: 17 September 2026
Candidates should apply through the official Umeå University advertisement and indicate interest in Project C.

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