About the position

The Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, near Oslo, has a vacant 3 year PhD–position related to Aquaculture and Veterinary Science.

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 BIOVIT

The Faculty of Biosciences is organized into two departments: Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences and Department of Plant Sciences. The main objective of the Faculty of Biosciences is to contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture and food production systems through basic and applied research on plants and animals including fish (aquaculture).

Research is organized in the following groups: Breeding and Quantitative Genetics, Ethology and Animal Environment, Nutrition and Physiology in Monogastric Animals, Ruminant Nutrition and Physiology, Genome Biology, Agroecology, Genetics and Plant Breeding, Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Plant Protection and Food Crops.

The faculty houses the Centre for Integrative Genetics (CIGENE) and the research centre for Research-based Innovation (SFI) - Foods of Norway. The faculty is responsible for bachelor- and master programmes in Biology, Animal Science and Plant Sciences, and international master programmes in Agroecology, Plant Sciences, Aquaculture, Animal Breeding Genetics and Feed Manufacturing Technology. PhD programmes include Animal Science and Aquaculture, and Plant Sciences. The faculty employs approximately 240 scientists, technicians, and administrative personnel. Around 480 bachelor and master students and 90 PhD students are enrolled in educational programmes within the faculty, offering a stimulating and supportive learning environment.

The Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences provides fundamental, innovative research and practical solutions to improve productivity and sustainability across the agriculture and aquaculture sector. The Department represents the sciences for the future within the animal husbandry fields of breeding, nutrition and ethology. The available position will be placed within the Nutrition and Physiology in Monogastric Animals.

The PhD candidate will mainly be associated with the project entitled “Dark fillet spots of farmed Atlantic salmon” (EX-Spot) financed by Fiskeri- og havbruksnæringens forskningsfinansiering, FHF.

The main goal of the project is to identify causes to discolored spots in Atlantic salmon fillets.

The project will have the following sub goals:

1) Generate basic knowledge about the cranio-ventral part of the fillet

2) Conduct in-vivo and in-vitro studies

Main tasks

The PhD position is offered for 3 years. The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with a view to completing a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period. The candidate will be based at NMBU, Campus Ås; however, research stay at collaborating partners abroad is strongly encouraged.

Main tasks of the PhD scholarship will be to identify causes to superficial hyper-pigmented areas of salmon fillets (dark spots).

More specifically the candidate will focus on:

• Generate basic knowledge about the cranio-ventral part of the fillet
• Conduct in-vivo and in-vitro studies
• Process and perform statistical analyses of data and write articles for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Present findings at conferences
• Collaborate with other team members

Academic qualifications and personal skills:

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 relevant PhD programme description.The applicant must document expertise and interest in the research subject.

Required Academic qualifications

• Master’s degree in aquaculture. Other master’s degrees with relevant profile can be considered (e.g. veterinary science).

The candidate shall be highly qualified in

• Fish anatomy and physiology
• Fish nutrition

Desired Academic qualifications

• Experience with in vivo and in vitro studies in Atlantic salmon
• Assessment of flesh quality
• Good understanding of histomorphology of fish
• Good understanding of quantitative methods used in histopathology
• Image analyses, X-ray
• Fish health
• Proven scientific writing skills.

Personal skills:

• The successful candidate must have a strong motivation and dedication to produce high-quality science
• Be able to work independently, and take ownership of the PhD-project, including sampling of fish material.
• Be able to collaborate within the research group
• Flexible, organized, social, and open-minded
• Document excellent communication skills in English (oral and in writing)

Remuneration and information

The position is placed in government pay scale position code 1017 PhD. Fellow, wage framework 20. 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:

• Professor Turid Mørkøre, E-mail: turid.morkore@nmbu.no; phone +47 93037001

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: 26 July 2019

Applications should include (electronically) a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, full publication list, copies of 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). Publications should be included electronically within the application deadline. The relevant NMBU Department may require further documentation, e.g. proof of English proficiency.

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