The position

Do you want to be a part of a team exploring risk factors for fractures among the elderly, and learn advanced quantitative methods?

A PhD position is available at the Department of Clinical Medicine (IKM), Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, and affiliated with the Tromsø Endocrine Research Group.

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 PhD fellow will work with epidemiological data from the Tromsø Study (The Tromsø Study | UiT). The work place will be at the Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT-the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. The PhD student will be part of Tromsø Endocrine and Geriatric Research Group, who over decades have been working with epidemiological and clinical research in osteoporosis and fractures, diabetes, steroid hormones, especially vitamin D, but also including sex steroids.

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

The project will use data from the Tromsø Study as exposure data and covariables, and link it up to an endpoint registry with all fractures. The endpoint registry is complete until dec 31st 2010, but it is presently being updated, and the update gives the opportunity to study risk factors also among the elderly and very old. The longitudinal design in the Tromsø Study gives the opportunity to study aspects like tracking, the effect of accumulated exposure, and the effect of change.The main factors to be analyzed are to be decided, the candidate will participate in the planning, and collaborators will depend on research-focus.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor and endocrinologist Ragnar Martin Joakimsen:

• phone: +47 95271300
• email: ragnar.joakimsen@unn.no

or Associate professor, research group leader and endocrinologist Guri Grimnes:

• phone: +47 48058538
• email: guri.grimnes@unn.no

Please contact the Head of Office Arvid Inge Paulsen in respect of administrative matters.

Qualifications

This position requires a master’s degree preferably in medicine (cand. med. or equivalent), but candidates with master’s degrees in other disciplines such as biomedicine, pharmacy, biotechnology or equivalent can also be relevant.

Qualification with a master’s degree within a relevant subject or with similar quantitative methods is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your Master’s degree, you may still apply and shall submit a draft version of the thesis. You must document completion of your degree before commencement in the position.

Documented fluency in English is required and working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is desirable.

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 skills will be emphasized. We are seeking a highly motivated and responsible candidate who should be able to work independently and interactively in a team setting. The candidate should have excellent analytical skills, and also have a great work capacity and enthusiasm for research.

As many people 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. 

UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

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 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 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• A large degree of independence in the work
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 532 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application 

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• CV - summarizing education, positions and academic work
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree as well as
• Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
• As well as certificates from previous positions (if applicable)
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency (and Norwegian if applicable), unless you have completed Norwegian, Danish or Swedish High School. This website states how English (and Norwegian) profiency shall be documented.
• 2-3 references including the supervisor of the master thesis, with contact details
• 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 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. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. 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. 

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. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

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.

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.