LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in cardiac biology
Deadline: 21.04.2026
Publisert
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The position
A Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is available at the Department of Medical Biology, with the project “Infective endocarditis - investigating early biomarkers, imaging and cellular mechanisms in cardiac valves in mouse a model”. The project is run by Brage Håheim and associated with the Cardiovascular Research Group at the Faculty of Health Sciences.
The position is a fixed term position for a duration of 3 years. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.
As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, you will have the opportunity to advance your scientific career and further qualify for academic positions. If you do not already have the educational competence that meets the requirements for an Associate Professor position in Norway, UiT will arrange such competence during the employment period.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
Unless special circumstances indicate otherwise, postdoctoral projects shall be planned with stays abroad. The duration should be at least 6 months.
The project/position's field of research
The project is run by Associate Professor Brage Håheim, in collaboration with tenure staff of the Cardiovascular Research Group. The cardiovascular research group is specialized in the study of cardiovascular pathophysiology and Dr Håheim is focused on infective endocarditis and hemodynamics. Specifically, this project focus on improving the outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) by improved pathophysiological understanding, diagnostics and treatment.
Infectious endocarditis (IE) is an infection of intracardiac structures. Globally, the annual incidence of IE is 2-10/100,000. The mortality rate for IE remains high, ranging from 15-30%. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical, and treatment primarily consists of prolonged intravenous antibiotic therapy tailored to the causative organism. In severe cases, surgical intervention may be necessary to repair or replace damaged heart valves or remove infected material.
IE exist in the crossroad of cardiovascular, microbiological, immunological and medical imaging research. It is a difficult disease to study and dependent on in vivo models due to the importance of microbe-host interaction. We therefor propose a project to establish an in vivo experimental animal model to study IE.
Our plan is to injure the aortic valves in live mice and intravenously inject staphylococcus aureus three days later. Within seven days, the mice are expected to develop IE. During this period, the mice will undergo echocardiographic/PET-examination/in vivo hemodynamic examination and will then be sacrificed to collect heart valves and blood for further analysis.
If successful, in establishing this model and reliably inducing IE, the next step will be to investigate other pathogens, such as Streptococcus and Enterococcus species and their interaction with valve cells.
Further, the Cardiovascular research group in need for expertise in small animal cardiac imaging. The group have ongoing projects in cardiovascular aging, cardiometabolic and cardiorenal health. The candidate will have opportunity to participate and collaborate with other PIs.
As this project is connected to a patient registry for infective endocarditis. Participation in epidemiological analysis and translational work is a possibility.
Both a strong academic track record and a genuine interest in conducting research are essential to qualify for the position. The candidates, academic track record, and other application materials must demonstrate this. We will emphasize personal suitability in our assessment. Consequently, applicants are required to submit a vision statement detailing their motivation for joining the research project and group, how they intend to contribute to and enhance the research within the project and group, and their research ambitions.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Brage Håheim:
A Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree in medicine, physiology, cardiology, infective disease or similar fields.
A FELASA-approval for work with research animals.
Documented experience in small animal research and experiments such as mice and rats.
Candidates must be proficient small animal cardiac imaging and analysis (echocardiography/MRI/PET).
Documented proficiency in both written and oral English. Applicants must have a documented knowledge of English which meets the requirements as stated in the Norwegian general university and college admission requirements. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
Desired qualifications:
Experience in animal research applications.
Experience in invasive hemodynamic measurements (PV-loop catheters/thermodilution) as well as ex vivo hemodynamic measurements (isolated running hearts).
Experience in molecular/cellular biology is not required, but an advantage. This includes experience with cardiac cell work (including cardiac/valve cell isolation), qPCR, histology, antibody-based techniques, confocal microscopy, small molecules/nanoparticles-based therapies, and live imaging.
Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is not a requirement, but an advantage.
In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted works. Emphasis shall also be attached to experience from popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity. During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:
Have good collaboration skills
Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
Wants to contribute to a good working environment
We are seeking a creative and enthusiastic candidate with a high degree of self-motivation and possesses the ability to work in a structured manner. The candidate should also have high organizational skills and ability to perform clean work in the lab.
At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University i 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 is 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 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.
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.
Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.
Your application must include:
Application letter detailing your motivation and research interests
Vision statement for research activities (max 3 pages)
Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important
Academic works, up to ten. The doctoral thesis is regarded as one work.
In order to achieve a targeted use of the postdoctoral position, and to strengthen the employee’s career development, a development plan must be available no later than three months after the appointment contract is signed. The development plan must be approved by the immediate leader with personnel responsibility.
If you're in the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply for the position, provided that you submit parts of your dissertation along with your application. This enables the evaluation committee to assess the quality and likelihood of completion by the desired employment date. You must include a statement from your supervisor or institution stating the expected completion date for your PhD degree. Documentation of your completed PhD degree must be submitted before commencement.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position.
Assessment
The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.
The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.
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.
The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. 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.
The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.
According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
