LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
Research Scientist affiliated with the project BMFishfeed
Deadline: 31.03.2023
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.
Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.
The Faculty of Health Sciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway represents a newly created entity gathering almost all possible health study programs. This facilitates an unique interdisciplinarity and innovation in health education and research. We work closely with the services in the North to solve tomorrow's challenges.
A researcher position is available at the Department of Pharmacy with the research group Natural products and medicinal chemistry and the project "BMFishfeed”, for a period of 2 years, starting spring/summer 2023.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø, and if offered the position you must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
The position’s affiliation
The position is affiliated to The Department of Pharmacy (IFA), which consists of seven research groups: Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry (affiliation of this position), Drug Transport and Delivery, Pharmacology, Microbiology and Clinical Pharmacy, Infection Biology, Computational Pharmacology. The Department has 32 permanent positions. In addition, there is a variable number of PhD student-, Researcher-, Post. Doc.-, and part time positions. The Department is responsible for a bachelor’s and a master’s program in pharmacy. Teaching is given at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Natural Product and Medicinal Chemistry research group currently consists of two Professors, three Associate Professor, two technicians-, and a varying number of researchers, and PhD students. The two professors are currently working as department leader and vice dean. The research group teaches courses in pharmaceutical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, natural products chemistry, and analytical chemistry at bachelor´s, master´s, and PhD level.
The main scientific disciplines of the research group are:
1. Medicinal Chemistry - bioactive compounds and hit-to-lead synthesis: Research projects in medicinal chemistry include synthesis and studies of bioactive peptides and peptidomimetics for lead-compound identification, structure activity-relationship studies and mode-of-action studies. Of special interest is development of lead-peptides and lead-peptidomimetics based on marine natural products with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity, as well as cytotoxic activity against cancer. The group is member of CANS - Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies – A new strategic research initiative at UiT, which is an interdisciplinary collaboration between 130 researchers from different national and international research groups with focus on antimicrobial resistance. The research group has established modern infrastructure for automatic microwave assisted solid phase peptide synthesis and preparative HPLC for isolation and purification, as well as methods for quality control (LC-UV and LC-MS).
2. Bioanalytical chemistry - LC-MS based bioanalysis: The focus of the research group within bioanalytical chemistry is systems biology and LC-MS based -omics studies, focusing on metabolomics and lipidomics, as well as targeted quantification of small molecules from biological samples. The research group has a specific focus on developing LC-MS based bioanalyses of biological materials. The research group has an active role in the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility (PRiME) at UiT. The groups competence within proteomics, metabolomics and lipidomics is also widely used in studies of marine organisms, especially with effects and nutritional value as focus points. The group has a well-developed interdisciplinary collaboration within this field.
The position’s field of research
The project is financed by the Norwegian Research Council and the primary objective is to use Omega-3 production side streams as feedstock for production of a lipid-rich bacterial meal (BM) for fish feed additives. The secondary objectives are, (i) Establishing a stable SBR process (select lipid-storing bacteria) based on Omega-3 production side stream as the only C-source. (ii) Produce a lipid rich bacterial biomass from a culture purged from the SBR. (iii) Establish a comprehensive characterization of the BM product. (iv) Assess basic questions regarding the sustainability of the BM process.
The researcher position is connected to WP3 Product characterization, that includes:
Lipidomics - The full lipidome of the bacteria can be analyzed by lipid extraction followed by Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (LC-MSn). The analysis will be performed on a high-resolution MS with electrospray ionization. MSn analysis will be important to determine the structure of different lipids, and software and databases such as e.g. Metlin and LipidSearch are possible tools for lipid identification and quantification.
Protein quantification – The total amount of proteins in the samples will be determined by the biuret test, and samples analyzed on an in-house UV-Vis spectrophotometer.
The researcher will have the main responsibility for lipidomics and protein quantification in this WP.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact:
The position requires a Master degree or equivalent within pharmacy, analytical chemistry or related fields. In addition the applicant must have:
Hands on experience with different extraction techniques
Hands on experience with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
Knowledge of identification and quantification methods within LC-MS
Experience with statistical analysis
The following knowledge/experience is seen as advantageous for the position:
experience in the field of bioanalytical chemistry
experience in the field of metabolomics/lipidomics
experience with both targeted and untargeted LC-MS analyses
experience with cultivation of bacteria
Applicants must document fluency in English and be able to work in an international environment.
Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is beneficial.
The candidate must be able to work systematically, independently and have the ability to work in an interdisciplinary research team. Emphasis will be placed on the communicative and collaborative skills, as well as personal suitability and the motivation and interest in the project.
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.
If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.
We offer
Involvement in an interesting research project
Good career opportunities
A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
Pension scheme through the state pension fund
Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.
More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here.
Application
The application must include:
Cover letter including a short description of interests and reasons for applying for the position.
CV containing a complete overview of experience, professional work and references
Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
Written references
Two references with contact details
Master’s thesis, and any other academic works
Documentation of English proficiency
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.
General information
The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
Remuneration for the position of researcher is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1108. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.
