Are you interested in molecular biology and want to know more about how staphylococci and streptococci cause mastitis in cow?This position might be of interest for you!

About the position

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

NMBU has a special responsibility for research and education that ensures the basis of life for future generations.

Sustainability is rooted in everything we do and we provide knowledge for life.

NMBU has 1700 employees and 5200 students and is organized in seven faculties. NMBU has a campus in Ås and in Oslo. In the autumn of 2020 we are co-located on Ås. Further information on NMBU is available at www.nmbu.no.

About KBM

The Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science (KBM) employs about 160 people. KBM represents a broad range of scientific fields encompassing basic natural sciences such as microbiology, chemistry, biochemistry as well as the application of these towards food chemistry, technology and safety, biotechnology, bioprocessing and environmental issues. The Faculty is responsible for education, research and information within its remit and also has state-of-the-art instrumentation to perform research within these fields. The Faculty KBM aims to strengthen its position and collaborates in networks and research projects both nationally and internationally.

Further information:
https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/kbm

The Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant 3-year PhD–position related to microbiology/infection biology.

Bovine mastitis is a bacterial infection affecting milk production and welfare of dairy cows. This infection is therefore a major problem in the dairy industry. To fight this infection it is important to understand the pathogenesis and develop new treatment strategies as an alternative to conventional antibiotics.

In this project, we will study the biology of bovine mastitis-associated staphylococci and streptococci using genome-wide methodologies, including genome-analyses, Illumina sequencing and RNA-seq as well as functional genetic analysis. The aim is to increase our understanding of how these bacteria cause mastitis and to identify new potential treatment strategies.

This 3-year PhD project is financed by NMBU. The PhD position is a collaboration between the research group in Molecular Microbiology, which has multiple ongoing projects related to molecular mechanisms in the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the Dairy Technology and Food Quality group, with expertise in food microbiology.

See also:https://www.nmbu.no/en/groups/kbm/molecular-microbiology

Main tasks

• Molecular biology, microbiology, genetics and biochemistry work with staphylococci and streptococci
• Genome-wide sequence analyses and next-generation sequencing
• Pathogenicity assays
• Metabolomics
• Writing scientific publications

The purpose of the PhD fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. The fellowship requires admission to the PhD program at KBM.

Academic Qualifications

The successful applicant must meet the conditions defined for admission to a PhD programme at NMBU. The applicant must have an academically relevant education corresponding to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are at master's degree level. The applicant must have a documented strong academic background from previous studies and be able to document proficiency in both written and oral English. For more detailed information on the admission criteria please see the PhD Regulations and the relevantPhD programme description.

The applicant must document expertise and interest in the research subject.

Required Academic qualifications:

• Master’s degree in microbiology, biotechnology, genetics, food science or similar
• Experience in genetics work in bacteria
• Training and research experience in microbiology and molecular biology

The following qualifications will be considered beneficial:

• Knowledge of or documented interest in high-throughput sequence analysis and bioinformatic analyses

You need to:

• Be interested in and motivated for the research project
• Be hard-working
• Be able to work independently
• Have good collaboration skills
• Have a demonstrated proficiency in spoken and written English. A proficiency in a Scandinavian language will be considered beneficial

Remuneration and information

The position is placed in government pay scale position code 1017 PhD. Fellow. PhD. Fellows are normally placed in pay grade 54 (NOK 479.600,-) on the Norwegian Government salary scale upon employment and follow ordinary meriting regulations.

Employment is conducted according to national guidelines for University and Technical College PhD scholars.

For further information, please contact:

• Morten Kjos, Associate Professor, E-mail: morten.kjos@nmbu.no; phone +47 67232951

Information for PhD applicants and general Information to applicants

Application

To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply for this job' button above. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.

Application deadline: 21.02.2020

Applications should include (electronically) a letter of intent, curriculum vitae including a publication list, copies of relevant degree certificates and transcripts of academic records (all certified), and a list of two persons who may act as references (with phone numbers and e-mail addresses). The relevant NMBU Department may require further documentation, e.g. proof of English proficiency.

Printed material which cannot be sent electronically should be sent by surface mail to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, within 21.02.2020. Please quote reference number 20/00254.

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