UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT – Developing the High North

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university and the northernmost university of the world.

Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

The Faculty of Health Sciences

The Faculty of Health Sciences represents a newly created entity gathering almost all possible health study programs. This facilitates an unique interdisciplinarity and innovation in health education and research. We work closely with the services in the North to solve tomorrow's challenges.

Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Medical Biology

The positions

Two 4-year PhD positions are available at the Department of Medical Biology (IMB), Faculty of Health Sciences. We seek two motivated and enthusiastic PhD fellows to join the Autophagy Research Group (ARG) in studies of selective autophagy processes in cells using advanced microscopy imaging techniques.

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 positions are part of the thematic Nanoscopy Applied to Selective Autophagy Research (NASAR) project initiative formed by research groups at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Science and Technology headed by Professor Terje Johansen. The students will be part of a research team including other PhD students, technicians and researchers and will be supervised by Associate professor Trond Lamark and Professor Terje Johansen.

The positions are available from August 2021 for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD program is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25% each year, and will consist of teaching and other duties for the Faculty of Health Sciences. 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 Autophagy Research Group (ARG)

The two positions are organized within the Autophagy Research Group (ARG) led by Professor Terje Johansen. The group performs basic research in cell biology and biochemistry with focus on selective autophagy processes in human cells. Selective autophagy is highly relevant in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, muscle- and heart diseases and diabetes as well as in the regulation of inflammation and in responses to bacterial- and viral infections.

The research group is one of the leading groups internationally in the field of selective autophagy research.

The project

The project is part of a larger interdisciplinary thematic project involving integration of multi-modality super resolution microscopy approaches for live cell 3D imaging of autophagy processes in cells. The two successful candidates will work on separate projects in a collaborative setting aimed at achieving a complete mechanistic description of how the selective autophagy receptor p62 works in recruiting cargo, and in forming droplets inside cells that can function as mobile platforms for mammalian autophagosome formation.

Studies will be performed to determine how enzymes and post-translational modifications of p62 regulate droplet formation and degradation under stress conditions. It will be addressed how p62 acts to degrade various forms of autophagy substrates including organelles, like mitochondria.

Other autophagy receptors will also be studied, and we will use our knowledge base to make artificial selective autophagy receptors targeting specific substrates.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Professor Terje Johansen:

• phone: +47 77 64 47 20
• email: terje.johansen@uit.no

or Associate Professor Trond Lamark:

• phone: +47 77 64 47 20
• email: trond.lamark@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires a relevant master’s degree in biochemistry/molecular biology/cell biology/medical biology or Norwegian Candidate of Medicine degree or other education which has been approved as equivalent to these.

Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment.

The successful applicants must document knowledge in molecular biology/medical biology at Master’s level. The project involves molecular methods for studying protein-protein interactions both in vitro and in mammalian cells, expression and purification of proteins from E. coli, transfection of mammalian cells, generation of knock out and knock-in cell lines using the CRISPR/CAS9 methodology, immunostaining and live cell imaging of mammalian cells using laser scanning confocal microscopy and other light microscopes. Experience with electron microscopy will also be regarded as positive.

Documented experience in the use of basal molecular biology methods, biochemical methods, immunohistochemical methods, cultivation, maintenance and transfection of mammalian cell lines and cell imaging using confocal microscopy will be evaluated as important. Experience in recombinant DNA work and mass spectrometry-based proteomics will be regarded as positive.

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.

Emphasis will be put on the candidates motivation andpersonal suitability for the position with relation to:

• Strong, personal initiative, motivation and work ethic
• Ability to work collaboratively to accomplish common research goals
• Respond to direction and research strategy
• Being solution-oriented, able to solve problems

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 Health Sciences 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.

Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. 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 two months after taking up the position.

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.

We offer

• Structured supervision from experienced researchers
• Interesting work tasks in a cutting edge research project
• Excellent career opportunities in a vibrant international research community
• State-of-the-art research infrastructure
• Interdisciplinary collaborations
• A structured PhD programme – English speaking
• 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)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• 1-3 references with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

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 document completion of your degree before commencement in the position. 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.

Apply for position