LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
PhD Fellow in Fish Health & Cell Biology
Deadline: 15.07.2022
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE) consists of Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NFH) and School of Business and Economics. The main task of BFE is to conduct teaching and research dissemination at a high national and international level within all relevant fields. Prioritized research areas are aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, climate, life in the arctic, marine bioprospecting, fish health, seafood products, business and macroeconomics, resources and environment, markets and management of marine resources.
The interdisciplinary profile of the faculty provides good opportunity to develop research projects involving several research groups at the faculty according to its strategy.
The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
The project and research group
The PhD project will focus on how fish skin epithelial cells (keratocytes) respond to exogenous stressors with respect to intercellular communication. The stressors can e.g., be nano- and microparticles, immunostimulants, persistent organic pollutants, bacteria, viruses, and/or certain chemicals. The candidate will use established protocols for cultivating skin cells and be trained in advanced microscopy, in molecular biology and genetic methods. The candidate will be working in a team of scientist and technical staff with highly cross-disciplinary competence. The applicant should be able to work independently as well as in a team.
The successful candidate will become a member of the research group in genetics and will be included in the research, career development and social activities of the group.
The Research Group Genetics
The research groups in genetics (RGG) undertake studies the genetics and genomics of Arctic and sub-Arctic fishes. RGG have particular interest in elucidating the mechanisms of speciation, adaptations to the environment, and genetic and biological interactions. How climate change and biological invasions intervene with these mechanisms is also of interest. The group uses genetic and genomic methods (in the broadest sense) in combination with classical approaches in biology.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact:
A master’s degree or equivalent by the time of employment in aquamedicine, cell biology, or in advanced microscopy. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply
Good understanding of fish biology, cell biology, and immunology
Good academic performances, and a genuine interest and motivation for performing research
Documented fluency in English and Norwegian/Scandinavian language
It is desirable if the candidate has the following qualifications:
Experience in isolation of fish cells, stimulation of cells, qPCR
Basic understanding in or motivation to acquire competence in microscopy
Established knowledge and/or motivation to run microscopy software
It is an advantage if the candidate has one or more of the following qualifications:
Experience in using standard laboratory equipment such as plate readers, spectrophotometers, incubators, sterile work
Interest in outreach, communication, and social media strategy
Driver’s license (equivalent to or Norwegian cl. B)
In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.
Personal qualifications and suitability will be emphasized; the candidate’s personal qualifications should include excellent interpersonal and communication skills and an enthusiasm to work as a member of a collaborative research team.
As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.
Admission to the PhD programme
For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.
Admission normally requires:
A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade C or better on the master’s degree, and grade C or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree. A grade lower than C in one course may be compensated by a higher grade than C in another course. If the applicant has two subjects with the grade D or lower, the applicant is not qualified for admission. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.
Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree.
If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than six weeks after taking up the position.
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University of 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 are 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 at 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.
We offer
Involvement in an interesting research project
Good career opportunities
A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
Pension scheme through the state pension fund
More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here.
Application
Your application must include:
Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
CV
Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcripts for the master’s degree with your application.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.
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.
A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.
Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.
