Postdoctoral Fellow in Colon cancer functional precision oncology

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the position

We are offering an exciting three-year position for a Postdoctoral Fellow in functional precision oncology at the Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU, in close collaboration with St. Olav’s University Hospital and SINTEF. You will engage in highly translational research, bridging the gap from laboratory discoveries to advanced computational analyses and ultimately to clinical trials aimed at improving cancer therapy. All of this takes place within a dynamic, interdisciplinary research group led by Åsmund Flobak.

The position is part of COSENSE-2: The Mona Lisa Project, an ambitious program that aims to reinvent therapy selection for metastatic colon cancer using patient-derived mini-tumours (tumouroids), high-content imaging and drug repurposing.

As our new postdoc, you will be a key driver of this effort: designing and running high-throughput drug screens on patient-derived tumoroids, developing and applying Cell Painting phenotypic profiling, and integrating these rich image-based readouts with genomic and viability data to discover new biomarkers and treatment strategies. You will work in a highly interdisciplinary environment spanning oncology, cell biology, imaging, bioinformatics and machine learning, with access to state-of-the-art robotic drug screening and high-content microscopy infrastructure at the NOR-Openscreen facility.

The position offers excellent opportunities to build a strong and independent research profile, co-supervise students, contribute to grant applications, and develop your scientific leadership. You will be part of a dynamic research community in Trondheim with strong links to national and international precision medicine networks.

Apply for this position to become part of our research environment and take the next step in your career with us.

The position is supported by The Norwegian Cancer Society. 

About the project 

COSENSE-2: The Mona Lisa Project - Drug Repurposing for Metastatic Colon Cancer by Patient-Derived Tumouroids and Cell Painting tackles one of the biggest challenges in colon cancer today: how to rapidly and rationally match each patient with the therapies most likely to work, including off-label and repurposed drugs. 

Building on our ongoing COSENSE-1 clinical trial, where functional assays on patient tumouroids are used to guide first-line therapy, COSENSE-2 will:

• Establish a comprehensive drug-response library by testing ~35 standard, repurposed and experimental cancer drugs across ~70 patient-derived colorectal tumouroid lines using robotic high-throughput screening.
• Apply Cell Painting - a state-of-the-art, multiplexed fluorescence-based imaging assay - to capture rich morphological “fingerprints” of drug responses in 3D tumouroids, going far beyond simple viability readouts.
• Integrate viability metrics, high-content imaging features, and exome sequencing to identify early phenotypic markers of efficacy and resistance and to discover predictive biomarkers for off-label therapies.

To our knowledge, this will be the first large-scale application of Cell Painting to primary patient-derived colon cancer tumouroids, supported by unique infrastructure at SINTEF and a strong clinical and computational network at St Olav’s hospital and NTNU. The results will provide the foundations for a future COSENSE-2 clinical intervention trial and help shape the next generation of functional precision oncology for metastatic colon cancer

Duties of the position

• Conduct high-quality research within functional precision oncology, with a particular focus on patient-derived colorectal tumouroids and drug repurposing.
• Design, perform and optimise high-throughput drug screens on 3D tumouroids using the NOR-Openscreen infrastructure (robotic liquid handling, automated imaging and viability readouts).
• Develop and refine Cell Painting assays and other high-content imaging protocols for patient-derived tumouroids, including experimental design, pilot studies and SOPs.
• Computational work in building and maintaining robust analysis pipelines for high-content image data (e.g. CellProfiler / deep learning workflows) and integrate these readouts with viability metrics and genomic data.
• Collaborate closely with clinicians, surgeons and SINTEF partners on patient sample handling, experimental planning, and interpretation of results in a clinical context.
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the research group FlobakLab 
• Apply for research funding and write applications and report on progress to funding sources 
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions 
• Mentoring students, helping them with their research projects, and advising on methodology and academic writing 

Required selection criteria

We are looking for a curious, ambitious and collaborative postdoctoral fellow who is motivated by translational cancer research and high-dimensional data. To be considered for the position

• You must have completed a doctoral degree in relevant molecular & cell biology disciplines.
• Have experience with at least two of the following
  • Advanced cell cultures (e.g. 3D cultures, organoids/tumouroids)
  • High-content microscopy
  • Data analysis in commonly used bioinformatics programming languages, e.g. python, R, etc
• If you are in the final phase of your doctorate and can document that the thesis has been submitted or that the defense date has been confirmed, your application can be considered even if you have not defended. NOTE: Documentation of the obtained doctorate must be presented before you can take up the position. 
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English equivalent level.

If you do not already have educational competence that meets the requirements for a position as associate professor in Norway, NTNU will arrange for you to acquire such competence during the employment period. In such cases, you will also be assigned relevant teaching as part of the career-promoting work.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions and Regulations concerning the degrees of philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position. 

Preferred selection criteria

• Have experience with advanced cell cultures (e.g. 3D cultures, organoids/tumouroids)
• Have experience with high-content microscopy.
• Have experience with high-throughput drug screening (e.g. 384-well formats, automated liquid handling, robotic platforms, compound handling)
• Familiarity with image analysis programs, e.g. CellProfiler, CellPose, pycytominer or other software such as Napari, Fiji, Pixi .  
• Familiarity with data analysis in commonly used bioinformatics programming languages, e.g. python, R, etc.
• Experience with image analysis in CellProfiler.
• Competence in machine learning or statistical modelling for high-dimensional biological data.
• Prior experience from translational oncology or working closely with clinicians and clinical trials.
• Strong publication record relative to career stage.
• Excellent oral and written presentation skills in English equivalent level.
• Some experience with or a strong interest in learning Scandinavian/Norwegian language is desirable, as this facilitates collaboration with local healthcare professionals, but this is not mandatory.

Personal characteristics

Working as a Postdoctoral fellow requires that you

• Are ambitious
• Work independently 
• Work collaboratively in groups
• Work structured, set goals and make plans to achieve them 
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals 
• Engage and contribute constructively with feedback 
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity 
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject 
• Mentor juniors in the group
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions 
• Are flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer 

• An exciting job with an important social mission
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment 
• Career guidance throughout the postdoctoral program and together with you we will prepare a career plan, which contains the skills and knowledge you will acquire
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues 
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a Postdoctoral Fellow at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 604 900,- per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

The position is funded by the Norwegian Cancer Society.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important to keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and to adapt to them. 

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed

About the application 

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above.

The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request. 

The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's-,Master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your PhD, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or confirmation that your PhD thesis has been submitted. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• CV
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting,you can attach a draft of the thesis. 
• Research plan
• Academic works - published or unpublished(up to four publications)
• Possible recommendation letters
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

If you have had leave or another break in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the selection committee can take this into account and that the amount of your research may be reduced as a result.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal qualities. Motivation, ambitions and potential for research will also be emphasized in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public list of applicants, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Åsmund Flobak, phone: 00 47 72 57 37 17, email:  asmund.flobak@ntnu.no. 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Elisabeth Myrvang, email: elisabeth.myrvang@ntnu.no.

If you find this position interesting, and in accordance with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 
 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000.The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.