University of Bergen

The University of Bergen (UiB) is an internationally recognised research university with more than 14,000 students and close to 3,500 employees at six faculties. The university is located in the heart of Bergen. Our main contribution to society is excellent basic research and education across a wide range of disciplines.

At the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biomedicine in the group of Professor Ruth Brenk (http://www.uib.no/en/rg/brenk ) a full-time (100 %) position as Postdoctoral Fellow is available for a period of 3 years. The position is part of the project “Exploration of the TPP riboswitch as a new target for antibiotics” financed by The Research Council of Norway under the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR) initiative.

About the Department/Project

The main focus of the project will be hit discovery and optimization for the TPP riboswitch which is a target for new antibiotics. The role of this postdoc will be high-throughput screening (HTS) assay development, hit validation (using binding assays and X-ray crystallography) and structure-based ligand design. Assay development will be conducted in close collaboration with the groups of Prof. Daniel Lafontaine from the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada, and Dr. Petr Bartunek from CZ-Openscreen, Czech Republic.

Postdoctoral Fellow

The main objectives for the position are

• to develop an HTS assay suitable for screening for TPP riboswitch ligands
• to conduct hit validation using surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
• to determine the crystal structures of target-ligand complexes
• to design compounds with improved affinities and physico-chemical properties
• to supervise master- and PhD students

For further information, please contact Ruth Brenk, e-mail: ruth.brenk@uib.no, phone: +47 55 58 60 70.

Qualifications and qualities

• The candidate must hold a PhD-degree within the field of pharmacy, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology or a related discipline or have submitted their doctoral dissertation within the specified field for evaluation within the closing date of the application. It is a condition for appointment that the dissertation is approved.
• The candidate must have documented experience in at least one of the following areas:
  • In vitro transcription of RNA
  • HTS assay development
  • X-ray crystallography of macromolecules
  • development of small molecule binding assays using SPR
• Additional experience in any of the following fields will be an advantage:
  • structure-based ligand design using computational methods
  • diffraction data collection at synchrotron beamlines
  • work experience in a multidisciplinary team including medicinal chemists and biologists
• Experience in several of the listed areas will also be advantageous.
• A structured approach to work and excellent communication skills and fluency in both written and spoken English are required.
• The candidate must demonstrate a strong commitment for hit discovery for antibiotics and research in general.
• Personal skills will be emphasized. The candidate must be able to work independently and interactively in a team setting, be motivated and responsible, and also have a great work capacity and enthusiasm for research.
• Prior publication record will be of importance.

The candidate is expected to spend several months in the groups of our collaborators abroad.

We can offer

• a good and challenging work environment in research front of hit discovery for new antibiotics
• salary level 59 (code 1352/pay framework 24.3) at present NOK 515 200 gross p.a. on the government salary scale. Further promotion will be after service seniority in the position. A pension contribute of 2 % will be deducted and deposited to the state pension scheme
• a good pension scheme in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• inclusive workplace (IW)
• good welfare benefits

For more information regarding what the University of Bergen can offer its employees please visit:

http://www.uib.no/en/poa/74243/what-can-university-bergen-offer-its-employees

For further information about the recruitment process, click here

About postdoctoral fellowships

In general, the purpose of postdoctoral positions at the University of Bergen is the building of competence by means of further development of research work to a higher level than what is possible within an ordinary PhD program. The main goals of the positions are to qualify the successful candidate for professional top positions.

It is a goal that the employment period is carried out as a continuous research program. Leaves of absence for other purposes than those laid down by law are normally not granted.

Applicants shall, once employed, put forward a proposal for a project for qualifying work. The proposal shall include a progress plan. It is a premise that the selected candidate will complete the project within the stipulated period of employment.

The employee may be assigned up to 25 % required duties in the form of teaching and similar work at the department.

Postdoctoral fellowships are fixed term positions. You cannot be employed as a postdoctoral fellow for more than one fixed term period at the same institution. Also, you cannot be employed in a postdoctoral position if you have previously held this type of position at a different institution in the region.

Recruitment to state employment

State employment shall reflect the multiplicity of the population at large to the highest possible degree. The University of Bergen has therefore adopted a personnel policy objective to ensure that we achieve a balanced age and sex composition and the recruitment of persons of various ethnic backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Persons of different ethnic backgrounds and persons with disabilities are therefore encouraged to apply for the position.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

The University of Bergen applies the principles of public openness when recruiting staff to scientific positions. Information about the applicant may be made public even though the applicant has requested not to be named in the list of applicants. The applicant will be notified if their request is not respected.

How to apply

Send your CV and application with attachments electronically via “Jobbnorge” by clicking on the button marked “APPLY FOR THIS JOB”.

The application must contain:

• a brief letter of application stating your motivation for the position and why you are applying
• witnessed copies of diplomas and relevant certificates (applicants with education from other countries than Norway must enclose witnessed diplomas in both the original language and authorized translations)
• complete list of publications
• publications (pdf) it is important that each of the scholarly works on which the committee should place special emphasis, is attached in its entirety
• two referees (name and contact information)

Please notice that the application will be assessed only with the information available in “Jobbnorge” when the deadline expires.

APPLY FOR THIS JOB