Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Pharmacy

The position

A Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is available at the Department of Pharmacy (IFA), Faculty of Health Sciences with the Drug Transport and Delivery research group (DTD).

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of 3 years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

Unless special circumstances indicate otherwise, postdoctoral projects shall be planned with stays abroad. The duration should be at least 6 months.

The project

The project focuses on advanced nanomedicine for localized antimicrobial/anti-inflammatory therapy. We aim to develop advanced formulations that can achieve high drug concentration at the infections site while assuring control of inflammation and enhanced regeneration. The focus will be on lipid-based nanoformulations, that can be tailored for specific site. Among antimicrobials, we are interested in antimicrobial peptides and novel antimicrobial molecules. The project is involving a collaboration with the Department of Clinical Dentistry at the same Faculty.

Qualifications

This position requires a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree in pharmacy or related disciplines.

Good communication skills in English - both written and orally - are required. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. The candidate should be able to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Specific skills that will be advantageous: 

• A multidisciplinary research experience that combines pharmaceutical, biomedical, material sciences and microbiology. 
• Understanding of antimicrobial mechanisms that can contribute to the prevention and management of infections while also addressing the challenges of antimicrobial resistance of current antimicrobial therapy.
• Skills in analytical chemistry that can strengthen the ability to characterize biomaterials, restorative materials, and therapeutic compounds, ensuring safe and effective integration into clinical practice.
• Experience with mammalian cell work that contributes to understanding of tissue responses, regeneration, and biocompatibility.
• Familiarity with emerging therapeutic approaches and novel drug delivery systems.
• Demonstrated multidisciplinary skills and a strong publication record, including lead authorships, will be considered in shortlisting applicants. Researchers with experience from relevant multidisciplinary projects are particularly welcome to apply.

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

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).

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

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 

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 for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility 

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter
• CV
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Contact information to 2-3 references
• Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important
• Academic works, up to ten. The doctoral thesis is regarded as one work.

In order to achieve a targeted use of the postdoctoral position, and to strengthen the employee’s career development, a development plan must be available no later than three months after the appointment contract is signed. The development plan must be approved by the immediate leader with personnel responsibility.

If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. Documentation of your completed PhD degree must be submitted before commencement.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. 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.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee’s mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants’ research qualifications based on the application documents and related to the requirements for the position. During the assessment process, emphasis will be placed on the applicant’s potential for research as shown by:

• PhD thesis within the specified fields
• Documented research experience 
• Publication list with focus on lead authorship
• Experience and skills in laboratory work relevant for the project
• Documented ability to work independently
• Skills in scientific writing in English
• Experience with innovation projects

 In addition, consideration may be given to work experience or other activities of significance for the project. The applicants who are assessed as the best qualified will be invited to an interview. The interview serves, among other things, to clarify the applicant’s personal suitability for the position.

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 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. 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.

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

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.