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Postdoctoral Fellow within Cultivability of Marine Microbiomes

Deadline: 18.10.2020

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.

Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics

The position

UiT The Arctic University of Norway, The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE), has a position as Postdoctoral Fellow available within Cultivability of Marine Microbiomes. The focus of the work in the position is to use apply culture-independent methods to characterize the diversity of microbiomes and study their gene expression responses to changes in culturing/environmental conditions. The position is hosted by the The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) and is funded through the Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS). The position is located in the Marbio research group.

The position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is a fixed term position for a period of 3 years. The main objective of the appointment as a post- doctoral research fellow is to qualify for work in a senior academic position. No one may be appointed to more than one fixed term period as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

Marbio is an analytical platform for natural products at UiT. The expertise at Marbio involves diversity and ecology of marine fungi and bioassay-guided purification to isolate active compounds of Arctic marine organisms to be included in a library of natural products. Arctic and sub-Arctic marine organisms are explored, searching for compounds with activities against bacteria, cancer and diabetes as well as compounds with immune-modulatory and antioxidative effects. Marbio’s screening campaign is based on a classic bioassay-guided fractionation approach supplemented with genome-based approaches.

CANS is a large strategic interdisciplinary centre at UiT - the Arctic University of Norway for research, education, innovation and dissemination related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). CANS currently involves fourteen research groups located at three faculties and covers topics within marine bioprospecting - identification and characterization of new antibacterial activities, design and synthesis of new antibiotics and resistance inhibitors, the evolution and molecular epidemiology of AMR, host-microbe-drug interactions as well as antibiotic stewardship. The centre aims to strengthen current activities, but also support new basic research in novel concepts for sustainable antibacterial activities in AMR-prevention and treatment strategies through new permanent positions

NCFS is a part of BFE and undertakes research and research-based teaching of high national and international quality in an interdisciplinary environment. Research activity is provisionally organized into groups focusing on living marine resources, seafood science, fish health, marine drug discovery, resource management, marine management and resource economics.

The position's field of research

The successful candidate should do basic research in the field of microbial interactions and how they affect cultivability within a given microbiome. Research on the cultivability of marine microbiomes is relevant for Marbio and CANS, as successful research in this area contributes to the knowledge how to better access microbes’ antibacterial properties. The research questions should be approached using culture-independent methods, whereas the study system is negotiable and can be selected based on candidate’s previous knowledge.

The candidate will have direct access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at Marbio including a modern molecular biology lab and supporting infrastructure that can be utilized in the project, such as automated microbial colony picking and screening system, high-resolution mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography instruments and a high-throughput bioactivity screening platform. Through NCFS, CANS and UiT a broader set of infrastructure is available including high-throughput sequencing, powerful computational, data analysis and storage resources (ELIXIR), nuclear magnetic resonance instruments and top-modern research vessels that are fully functional in Arctic conditions.

The candidate will be engaged in:

  • Designing projects scrutinizing molecular foundations of microbial interactions in field and laboratory experiments;
  • Producing DNA/RNA sequence data from microbiomes;
  • Analysing multiomics data using state-of-the-art or self-developed bioinformatics tools;
  • Contributing to high-impact publications and grant proposals;
  • Supervising PhD and MSc students and teaching in relevant courses at NCFS.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Qualifications

The successful candidate is expected to hold a Norwegian doctoral degree within a field relevant for the research theme of the position (e.g, microbiology, bioinformatics, molecular ecology), or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree.

We are looking for a keen scientist, who has an excellent academic record and the ambition and potential to become an internationally acknowledged researcher.

The suitable candidate must document (i.e. peer-reviewed or otherwise published) expertise in:

  • metatranscriptomics and/or metagenomics methods applied to microbial communities;
  • data curation and storage of large sequence data sets;
  • broad application and development of bioinformatic tools.

The candidate should also document experience in annotating metabolic pathways and metagenome-assembled or single amplified genomes (MAGs or SAGs). It is considered advantageous if the candidate has previous hands-on knowledge of fungi or other eukaryotic microbes and biosynthetic gene clusters encoding for microbial natural products.

Language skills - the candidate must show a good command of English, both spoken and written. Proficiency in a Norwegian/ Scandinavian language is considered an advantage.

We are seeking for a highly motivated and committed candidate with experience in international collaboration who is passionate about developing her/his own research. Candidate should have excellent communication and organizational skills in order to work in a multidisciplinary team, do project management and outreach, and supervision of students. Emphasis is given to personal suitability.

When applying for this position, the applicant must submit a project proposal for the qualifying work. The project proposal should describe how you can contribute to the described field of scientific research and must include a progress plan. It is required that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment.

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).

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidates potential for research, motivation and personal suitability for the position.

Application

The application must be submitted electronically via www.jobbnorge.no and shall include:

  • Application letter explaining your motivation and research interests
  • CV - summarizing education, positions and academic work
  • Diplomas and transcripts from completed degrees
  • 2-3 reference letters with contact details
  • Project proposal including a progress plan
  • Documentation of proficiency in English language and Norwegian/ Scandinavian language if applicable. How to document
  • The academic works (published or not) you wish us to take into consideration in the assessment

The documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language. We only accept applications sent via www.jobbnorge.no.

We offer

  • Good welfare arrangements for employees
  • Involvement in an interesting research project
  • A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
  • A large degree of independence in work
  • Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
  • Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

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.

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 successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. UiT and will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.

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.

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: Welcome to UiT!

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