Job description

A Research Council of Norway (NFR)-funded 3-year PhD position in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease is available at the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Oslo, Norway.

Project title: “Defective mitophagy in Alzheimer Tau pathology: Mechanistic studies and AI-based drug development (‘AM-AI’)"

Host: Associate Prof. Evando F. Fang

More about the position

Project description:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting over 50 million individuals worldwide and there is no cure. Ageing is the primary driver of AD, thus strategies to slow down ageing may delay the onset of AD. Our recent work highlights defective mitophagy as a high risk factor of AD (Nature Neuroscience 2019, PMID: 30742114; Cell Metabolism 2019, PMID: 29514072). However, the molecular mechanisms on why mitophagy is reduced in AD is not fully understood. We are also interested to develop novel mitophagy inducers as drug candidates against AD; to achieve a likely high success rate, we will combine novel artificial intelligence techniques with classical cross-species wet lab methods to screen drug candidates in an efficient and effective way (Nature Biomedical Engineering; PMID: 34992270).

The 3-year full time PhD programme is devoted to carrying out a project on the mechanism of altered mitophagy/autophagy in AD initiation and progression. Novel strategies (genetically and pharmacologically) that turning up mitophagy will be developed and their funcitons in treating AD animal and cell models will be explored. Novel laboratory models including C. elegans, mice, and human cell culture, and postmortem human brain tissues will be used for AD studies (Nature Neuroscience 2019, PMID: 30742114). The candidate will be having a unique opportunity to work in the leading autophagy/mitophagy and AD laboratory, the Evandro Fang Laboratory at the University of Oslo (https://evandrofanglab.com/, https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/people/aca/evandrof/ )

within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

Your working environment

You will be working in the Evandro F. Fang laboratory which consists over 12 trainees from over 8 countries. The Fang laboratory works on the molecular mechanisms of human ageing and the age-predisposed Alzheimer’s disease. More of the Fang laboratory at (https://evandrofanglab.com/, https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/people/aca/evandrof/). The department and institution provide state-of-the-art equipment to enable the performance of broad scientific studies in the highest quality. External supervision in this project comes from partners at the Michela Deleidi Laboratory with training on neuron-microglia co-culture and Seahorse measurements.

Your main tasks and responsibilities in this project are:

• To carry out mechanistic studeis in C. elegans, mice, and human cells
• To work with collaborators on the using of AI to screen novel mitophagy inducers
• To design and carry out experiments as well as to collect and analyze the data in high quality and diligence
• To write research papers
• To assist the PI in training and mentoring in the laboraotry of summer students and master students.
• Other tasks related to this project.

Qualification requirements

We seek a highly motivated scientist who has training experience in C. elegans and can perform sophisticated laboratory experiments as detailed below. The research project should result in a PhD thesis.

To be eligible for this position, the applicant must satisfy all the following requirements :

• A master degree in life science, biochemistry, molecular biology, neuroscience or similar fields
• Candidates with prior knowledge on ageing and neuroscience will be prioritized
• Previous experiences in working with C. elegans, for at least one year, is essential as C. elegans is the major model system for this project
• Skills in techniques critical for the performance of the current project, such as flow cytometry-based isolation of neurons from worms, as well as generation of new worm lines using CRISPR technique are necessary
• Previous trainings in Bioinformatics and Statistics
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.

The skills and competences listed below will also be valued:

• Communication skills
• Collaboration/Team work
• Goal-oriented

We offer

You will be appointed as fulltime PhD for 3 years at The University of Oslo.

We offer

• A stimulating academic/scientific working environment
• Salary NOK 532 200 - 575 400 per annum in a position code 1017, depending on qualifications
• Favourable pension arrangements (Statens Pensjonskasse)
• Advantageous welfare conditions

More information can be found here.

How to apply

The application must include:

• cover letter statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)
• copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
• documentation of english proficiency
• a complete list of publications and academic works list of reference persons:
• 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”.

Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

The candidate must take part in the University of Oslo’s approved PhD-program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD-degree. The applicant must, in collaboration with her/his supervisor have worked out a complete project description to be attached to the application for admission to the doctoral program. More information here: Application and admission - PhD - Faculty of Medicine (uio.no)

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo here

According to the Norwegian Freedom of 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.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For any informal enquiries regarding the position, please contact:

• Evandro Fei Fang, Ph.D - Email: e.f.fang@medisin.uio.no

For questions regarding the application process, please contact

• HR adviser Maren Retterstøl Olaisen: marenol@medisin.uio.no

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link: “Apply for this job”.

Apply for this job