Lithuanian University of Health Sciences  (LSMU) is the largest biomedical and health sciences research institution in Lithuania and a leading centre of excellence in life sciences, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, public health, and clinical research. It integrates fundamental, translational, and clinical research within a unified academic and healthcare infrastructure, covering the full continuum from laboratory discovery to clinical application. LSMU operates specialised research institutes and advanced laboratories supporting R&D, biotechnological innovation, and interdisciplinary research, and actively participates in national and international collaborative projects. A key strength of the University is its close integration with large-scale clinical infrastructure.

HOST DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION:

The host department is the Neuroscience Institute at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. The Neuroscience Institute provides a multidisciplinary research environment for basic, applied, translational, and clinically relevant neuroscience research through interdisplinary collaborator within LSMU. Within this setting, the Department of neuroscience offers a suitable environment for projects focused on malignant brain tumors, glioblastoma biology, molecular mechanisms of tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, and biomarker discovery.

The proposed MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship project would benefit from an interdisciplinary environment connecting neuroscience, oncology, molecular biology, translational medicine, and biomedical). The host setting is well aligned with projects investigating brain tumor biology, molecular neuro-oncology, cancer therapy response, tumor recurrence, and mechanisms of disease progression. Depending on the final project design and applicant expertise, the fellowship may involve molecular and cellular approaches, tumor model systems, omics-based profiling, bioinformatic analysis, and collaborative translational research.

SUPERVISOR DESCRIPTION:

Dr. Sung Soo Kim is a cancer scientist with expertise in neuro-oncology, cancer neuroscience, glioblastoma biology, therapy resistance, tumor recurrence, and translational cancer research. His research focuses on understanding how malignant tumors adapt to therapeutic pressure, undergo molecular and cellular reprogramming, and acquire recurrence-competent phenotypes research through strong collaboration with National Cancer Center (South Korea), Havard medical center (USA), Cleveland Clinic (USA), and NCI (USA).

His work integrates cancer biology, neuroscience, longitudinal disease modeling, and proteogenomic approaches to investigate the mechanisms that drive treatment resistance and recurrence in aggressive brain tumors. His current scientific interests include glioblastoma recurrence, therapy-induced tumor plasticity, anti-angiogenic therapy resistance, hypoxia-driven adaptation, mitochondrial stress responses, tumor microenvironmental remodeling, and spatio-temporal proteogenomic programs that emerge before clinically detectable recurrence.

Dr. Kim has contributed to high-impact studies in glioblastoma, cancer stem cell biology, tumor-associated macrophage remodeling, mitochondrial adaptation, mesenchymal transition, and therapy resistance. His research has been supported by competitive grants, including funding for longitudinal proteogenomic analysis of recurrence potential factors and preclinical validation of therapeutic antibodies in glioblastoma models. He is also interested in translational cancer therapy strategies, including immunotherapy and CAR-T cell-based approaches, particularly when integrated with molecular profiling to identify actionable vulnerabilities in cancer.

Cancer science / neuro-oncology / cancer neuroscience / glioblastoma / therapy resistance / longitudinal proteogenomics / spatio-temporal multi-omics / translational cancer therapy

ORCID: 0000-0001-9214-9379

Google Schorlar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7UYAtzsAAAAJ&hl=en

POSSIBLE RESEARCH TOPICS FOR MSCA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS:

Potential MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship applicants are invited to develop a project within the broader field of cancer science, neuro-oncology, and therapy resistance. Possible research topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Spatio-temporal proteogenomics of glioblastoma/pan cancer recurrence.
   This project would investigate how glioblastoma evolves during therapeutic response and recurrence by integrating longitudinal proteomic, transcriptomic, phosphoproteomic, and spatially resolved molecular profiling approaches.
2. Therapy-induced adaptation and recurrence commitment in glioblastoma/pan cancer.
   This project would examine how therapeutic pressure induces adaptive tumor states before clinically visible recurrence, with the goal of identifying early molecular programs that define recurrence-competent cancer cells.
3. Hypoxia-driven tumor plasticity and targeted therapy resistance.
   This project would focus on how hypoxia and targeted therapy reshape glioblastoma/pan cancer biology, including mitochondrial adaptation, neuronal-like reprogramming, microenvironmental/immune remodeling, and resistant tumor evolution.
4. Mitochondrial stress responses as therapeutic vulnerabilities in recurrent brain tumors.
   This project would investigate mitochondrial metabolism, mitochondrial dynamics, stress adaptation, and mitochondrial–immune–tumor communication as mechanisms of survival and recurrence under therapeutic pressure.
5. Tumor microenvironment remodeling during cancer therapy response.
   This project would explore how immune cells, extracellular matrix remodeling, vascular adaptation, hypoxic niches, and neuronal or synaptic-like programs contribute to therapy resistance and tumor recurrence.
6. Molecular profiling-guided therapeutic strategies for aggressive cancers.
   This project would aim to connect proteogenomic or multi-omics profiling with therapeutic vulnerability discovery, including targeted therapy, immunotherapy, antibody-based therapy, or CAR-T-related translational strategies.

Applicants are encouraged to propose their own project ideas within these themes, particularly if they bring complementary expertise in cancer biology, neuroscience, molecular oncology, computational biology, spatial biology, immunology, or translational therapeutic development.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL SKILLS OF APPLICANTS:

The applicant should be highly/strongly motivated, scientifically independent, collaborative, and capable of developing a competitive MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal together with the supervisor.

 Transcriptomic, proteomic, phosphoproteomic, spatial omics, or single-cell data analysis, including WES and clonal evolution.

 Bioinformatics, statistical analysis, R/Python-based data analysis, or multi-omics integration.

  Scientific writing, independent project development, and preparation of manuscripts or grant applications.

or/and

  Glioblastoma, brain tumor biology, neuro-oncology, or cancer therapy resistance.

  Tumor hypoxia, mitochondrial biology, metabolism, or stress adaptation.

  Cell culture, patient-derived models, organoids, or preclinical tumor models.

  Molecular biology techniques, including qPCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, or related approaches.

 Immunotherapy, antibody-based therapy, CAR-T cell approaches, or cancer therapeutic development.

ELIGIBILITY 

1. Supported fellows must be in possession of PhD at the call deadline (September 9, 2026).  

2. Have up to 8 years experience in research from the date of award of the doctoral degree at the call deadline. 

3. Fellows must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Lithuania for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the call deadline.  

Please check the conditions and your eligibility at the following link:  https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships 

 APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

An expression of interest shall be sent directly to Sung Soo Kim, Ph. D.(e-mail: ksssea84@gmail.com)  latest at 15 July – 25 July 2026, Earlier members will have highly original research projects with the potential to generate high-impact publications.Contacting the supervisor, please provide: 

1. Curriculum Vitae. 

2. List of publications. 

3. A brief outline of the proposed research project with defined objectives (max 2 pages). 

4. Motivation letter.