PhD position in Diagnostics of Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance
Deadline: 09.08.2026
Publisert
Universitetet i Innlandet har om lag 15 000 studenter og 1 450 ansatte. Vi har studiesteder i Lillehammer, Hamar, Elverum, Rena, Evenstad og på Blæstad, og tilbyr også noen utdanninger på Kongsvinger, Tynset og i Oslo.
NOKUTs styre godkjente Høgskolen i Innlandets søknad om universitetsakkreditering den 12. september 2024. 8. november besluttet kongen i statsråd at høgskolen ble Norges 11. universitet.
Universitetet i Innlandet er kjent for sterke og solide utdannings- og forskningsmiljøer som setter spor etter seg regionalt, nasjonalt og internasjonalt.
Visjonen vår er «Sterkere sammen - vi bygger universitetet i tverrfaglig fellesskap, sammen med samfunns- og arbeidsliv.»
About the position
The Department of Biotechnology at the Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences, and Biotechnology (ALB) at the University of Inland Norway (INN) invites applications from exceptional candidates for a PhD position. The position is expected to start as soon as possible and will last for three years. The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Biotechnology. The candidate will be enrolled in INNs PhD program in applied ecology and biotechnology, and the candidate must work from the designated workplace in Hamar.
The appointed PhD candidate will work in the group of Professor Rafi Ahmad. The Ahmad group (https://www.inn.no/english/find-an-employee/rafi-ahmad.html) is also part of the Norwegian Network for One Health Resistome Surveillance (NORSE), a national network of 13 Norwegian institutions. The group is also part of Microbiology Matters (MiMa), a PhD school with work-life relevance that focuses on One Health and infectious diseases (https://en.uit.no/project/mima). The group is also affiliated with the National Center of Expertise, Heidner Biocluster.
The appointed candidate will be working within a proliferating scientific environment comprising academic staff members, Ph.D. students, and research fellows with scientific expertise ranging from theoretical methods (machine learning, biostatistics, and bioinformatics) to experimental methods (genomics, molecular biology, clinical microbiology, microscopy, and spectroscopy).
About the project
The WHO considers bacterial infection caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a critical global threat to modern healthcare and societal well-being. It has been nearly 40 years since a new class of antibiotics was introduced to the market. This, along with the increased and often inappropriate use of existing drugs, means we are heading toward a world where antibiotics may no longer be effective. Remarkably, most prescriptions and antibiotic administration are still done without any information on the causative pathogens or their resistance profiles.
The selected candidate will work within the UTI-Diag and OH-AMR-Diag projects funded by the Research Council of Norway. Please find the project details here:
The main objective of these projects is to develop a proof-of-concept decision-making diagnostic system for rapid, accurate, and sensitive on-site detection of infections, pathogen identification, characterization of resistance profiles, and prediction of antibiotic susceptibility.
Alongside INN University, we have a fantastic group of partners in the project consortium.
From Norway - University of Tromsø, University hospital of North-Norway, Inland Hospital, and Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
From India - Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
Plus, we’re thrilled to collaborate with the World Health Organization and the European Section of Infections in Urology.
The key objectives of this Ph.D. project include (a) optimizing the in-house developed novel method for culture-independent sample preparation for body fluids; (b) performing metagenomic and potentially photonics analysis on clinical samples, and (c) correlation of the generated data; (d) proof of concept study to evaluate the performance of the development method in clinical settings.
Please refer to our latest publications, which highlight our work.
It is a requirement that the PhD research fellow qualifies for admission to the University's PhD programme in Applied ecology and biotechnology. Applicants who already hold a PhD will not be considered. Applicants who have submitted their master's thesis for evaluation before the deadline are eligible to apply, but final documentation must be obtained before employment is offered.
To be admitted to the doctoral program, the applicant must normally have a minimum master's degree or master's level (120 credits, §3 master's in the Norwegian system) or equivalent education, within in biotechnology, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, or another relevant scientific discipline.
Furthermore, you must have a strong academic background from your previous studies, i.e., the average grade should normally be B or better from the master's program (120 credits) or equivalent education. Calculation of the average grade is based on the credits for each course and for the master's thesis. Applicants with weaker grades than what is normally required for admission must document that they will be able to complete a doctoral degree. In cases where the education has been approved with the use of the grades passed / failed, the applicant is admitted after an individual assessment. If you have education from abroad, you can contact NOKUT for approval of your education, alternatively, a similar assessment will be made in connection with the application process.
Required qualifications The required qualifications are:
Prior experience with methods development, including nucleic acid extraction or host cell/DNA depletion.
Hands-on experience with sequencing technologies from Oxford Nanopore, including MinION flow cells.
Prior experience with the entire sequencing workflow, from sample preparation to bioinformatics analysis.
Hands-on experience handling clinical samples.
Skilled in analyzing large-scale biological datasets, including whole-genome sequencing and metagenomic sequencing.
Desired Qualifications
Fluency in scripting in Python and R.
Experience with AMR and infection biology.
The candidate must also demonstrate proficiency in spoken and written English. Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must document English competence through an approved test (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Additional consideration will be given to those with strong teamwork and communication skills and to those with documented scientific publications.
Evaluation of candidates for the position will be based on a total assessment of educational background, experience, and personal suitability, as well as motivation and other eligibility requirements, as defined in the advertisement. In addition, the following will be emphasized: quality of the project description, documented independent research and development work or experience relevant to the project.
The position and associated tasks must be carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations for government employees, including also the Act on Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology, etc. Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, come into conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to take up the position at University of Inland Norway. Necessary approvals must be maintained throughout the employment relationship.
How to apply
The application and attachments must be submitted electronically and include the following:
Application cover letter summarizing the candidate’s motivation and how they meet the position requirements.
CV (summary of education and work experience).
Copies of academic certificates/transcripts.
Minimum of two references with complete contact information.
A complete list of scientific and other publications.
Attachments must be uploaded as separate files. If the attachments exceed 30 MB, they must be compressed prior to upload. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all attachments are uploaded. Documents submitted after expiry of the deadline will not be considered in the evaluation of your application.
If you are awaiting final master's documentation, please submit your thesis and transcript.
University of Inland Norway aims to balance gender composition in the workforce and recruit people from ethnic minority backgrounds. According to the Norwegian Law "Offentlighetsloven §25.2 ledd," information about an applicant can be published even if the applicant has requested not to be included in the public list of applicants.
We offer
Collaborating within a multidisciplinary team comprising microbiologists, ML/AI specialists, bioinformaticians, medical professionals, and physicists.
Access to cutting-edge computational infrastructure.
Involvement in a stimulating and impactful project that contributes positively to society, offering opportunities for both personal and scientific growth.
An intellectually stimulating work environment with dynamic colleagues focused on a critical and rapidly growing research field.
A flexible and independent work setting where candidates have significant autonomy. Daily interaction with talented and motivated colleagues.
Position is paid and placed in position code 1017, PhD candidate in the Government Salary Scale (A paygrade of LT 54).
Life insurance and occupational injury insurance are included. Pension contributions to Statens pensjonskasse (State Pension Fund) will be automatically deducted. All residents in Norway are automatically included in the Norwegian public health system.
For more information about INN University as an employer, please see here.
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General information
For further details about the position, please contact professor Rafi Ahmad, rafi.ahmad@inn.no
INN believes that there is strength in inclusion and diversity. We desire employees with different competencies, professional combinations, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to an even better way of solving problems. We will facilitate for employees who need assitance to realise their goals. Relevant adaptations can be, for example, technical aids, adapting furniture or adjusting routines, work tasks and working hours.
If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, gaps in the CV or immigrant background, we shall call at least one applicant in each of these categories for an interview. In order to be considered as an applicant in these groups, the applicants must meet certain requirements. You can read more on this here: https://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/positivsaerbehandling.
We encourage applicants to tick in Jobbnorge if they have a disability, a gap in their CV or immigrant background. The ticks in the jobseeker portal form the basis for anonymised statistics that all state-owned enterprises report in their annual reports
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
