PhD-position (3 years) - Department of Biomedicine
Deadline: 26.10.2021
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.
There are five departments and seven centres at Faculty of Medicine.
At the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biomedicine in the group of Professor Ruth Brenk, a PhD-position (100 %) is available for a period of three (3) years. The position is funded by the University of Bergen.
The position is part of the project “RESPONsible early Digital Drug Discovery – RESPOND3: Towards better computational approaches and responsible innovation strategies in early drug discovery: application to antibiotics and COPD” financed by The Research Council of Norway
About the project/work tasks:
The RESPOND3 project is part of the Centre for Digital Life Norway and is a cross disciplinary collaboration between research groups at the Centre for Advanced studies in Biomedical Innovation Law at the University of Copenhagen, the Department of Computing, Mathematics and Physics at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, the Department of Biomedicine at the Faculty of Medicine and at the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bergen. In total, the team is composed of 4 postdocs, 3 PhD students and five principal investigators covering medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry and biology, structural biology, mathematics, and law. The main focus of RESPOND3 is hit and lead optimization for targets for antibiotics (FMN riboswitch) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (proteinase 3) guided by the use of computational methods as well as the development of new scoring functions using machine learning. The entire project is embedded in a responsible research and innovation strategy.
The main objectives for the advertised PhD position are
to derive data sets for the development of new scoring functions for protein-ligand interactions with machine learning methods
to apply matching learning methods to derive a new scoring function for protein-ligand interactions
to retro- and prospectively evaluate the derived scoring functions
to design ligands with improved affinities for the targets in the RESPOND3 project
to supervise master students
This PhD project will be conducted in collaboration with the group of Matthias Rarey at the Center for Bioinformatics of University of Hamburg (Germany) implying that this position will involve research stays in his lab.
Qualifications and personal qualities:
The applicant must hold a master`s degree or equivalent within the field of cheminformatics, bioinformatics, pharmacy, medicinal chemistry, or a related discipline.
The applicant must have a thorough understanding of the physico-chemical properties of small molecules and the principles of small molecule-protein interactions.
Basic knowledge of a scripting language is required.
Experience from related research projects will be considered favourable.
The candidate must demonstrate a strong commitment and enthusiasm for structure-based drug design and for research in general.
The candidate must be able to work independently and interactively in a team setting.
A structured approach to work and excellent communication skills and fluency in both written and spoken English are required.
Applicant whose education is from another country than Norway, need to also attach a certified translation of the diploma and transcript of grades to English or a Scandinavian language, if the original is not in any of these languages. It is required that the applicant enclose a review from NOKUT whether the education in question (bachelor and master's degree) is of a scope and level that corresponds to the level of a Norwegian master’s degree. Please see www.nokut.no for more information about NOKUT’s general recognition. The review from NOKUT may take some time and the application should be sent to NOKUT as soon as you have decided to apply for the position. If no answer within the application deadline, please enclose documentation from NOKUT that they have received your application.
About the PhD position (applies to university PhD positions):
Organized research training (PhD program):
The candidate must take part in the University of Bergen approved PhD programme leading to the degree within a time limit of 3 years. You must have admission to the organized research training (PhD program) at the Faculty in order to qualify for the position.
Application for admission to the PhD programme, including a project plan outline for the training plan must be submitted no later than three months after the date of commencement.
The PhD-position:
PhD-positions are fixed term positions. You cannot be employed in a PhD-position for more than one fixed term period at the same institution or have had similar employment at an institution in the region.
We can offer:
Exciting development opportunities as part of your role in a strong professional environment
Salary at pay grade 54 (code 1017/pay framework 20.10) NKR 491 200 before taxes, in the state scales. Further increases in salary will be based on seniority in the position.
Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
a brief account of the applicant`s research interests and motivation for applying for the position
a CV
certified copies of diplomas and transcripts of grades. Applicant whose education is from another country than Norway, need to also attach a certified translation of the diploma and transcript of grades to English or a Scandinavian language, if the original is not in any of these languages. It is required that the applicant enclose a review from NOKUT whether the education in question (bachelor and master degree) is of a scope and level that corresponds to the level of a Norwegian master’s degree. Please see www.nokut.no for more information about NOKUT’s general recognition. This may take some time and we recommend you to apply as soon as you know you will apply for this position. If no answer within the application deadline, please enclose documentation from NOKUT that they have received your application
The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
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.
The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.
For further information about the recruitment process, click here.
