PhD in Cellular Agriculture

About the PhD fellowship:

Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Norway, invites applications from outstanding candidates for a three-year (or four-year) PhD position in Cellular Agriculture.

Cultivated meat and seafood are an alternative approach for an innovative and sustainable food production. However, significant scientific and technological challenges remain before cultured meat can fully replicate the sensory and functional qualities of natural seafood. This PhD project is expected to develop technology for cultivated seafood, by selecting the optimal cell source, developing a continuous cell line and developing proof-of-concept for a cultivated seafood bioprocess. The position is associated to two EU-funded projects FEASTS and SEANERGIES. The candidate will closely collaborate with the teams at Nord and Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The PhD-position is within the Algal and Microbial Biotechnology Division at Nord University, Bodø.

The PhD project aims to i) establish a continuous cell line of a commercially important food fish, ii) develop cell-specific alga-derived medium and scaffold/microcarrier, and iii) scale up (bench-scale) of the cultivation process based on protocols developed.

Candidates must comply with Nord University’s residency requirements.

Qualification requirements

The ideal candidate for this position must possess an MSc degree in biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, biomedical sciences, tissue engineering, cell biology, or a relevant field in biosciences. 

Significant hands-on experience with animal cell culture techniques including isolation and culture of primary cells, and familiarity with laboratory methods, such as qPCR, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry are required. 

Experience in use of omics tools and handling of big dataset as well as analysis of data using R software will be advantageous for the position. 

The candidate should have an excellent academic record, be highly motivated, demonstrate independent scientific thinking and creativity, and must have the ability to collaborate with members of multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.

Applicants from outside the EU/EEA must submit NOKUT approval of their master’s degree

Grade average of B or better (or equivalent score) both for the programme in total and the master’s thesis. The grades at the qualifying MSc examination needs to be B or better (ECTS scale from A-E) to be admitted to the PhD program.

See admission requirements: PhD in Biosciences

It is assumed that the person who is hired  for this position is admitted to the faculty’s doctoral program. The project proposal and the plan for the doctoral work must be agreed upon with the Ph.D. supervisor and approved by the faculty no later than 3 months after taking up the fellowship. Termination may be considered if the candidate: i) is not admitted to the Ph.D. programme at the faculty within the 3-month period, ii) within the 6-month probationary period is deemed to lack the necessary skills required to  continue successfully in the Ph.D. programme, iii) has a severe drop in progress, or iv) fails to submit the periodic progress reports. For admission requirements and regulations, see our web page

The thesis can be written in English or Norwegian (or a Scandinavian language). The position demands proficiency in English, both written and verbal.

Candidates who already have a PhD degree will not be considered for the position.

Qualified applicants will be ranked according to the following criteria:

• Theme and perspectives from the applicant’s master’s study
• The quality of the project proposal outline, based on theme of the announced position, including a plan for implementation over a three-year period
• The applicant’s description of motivation for the doctoral work and commitment to graduate within the set time frame
• Relevant experience from research work
• Ability to work independently, goal-oriented and systematically
• Personal suitability

We offer

The annual salary for doctoral researchers (code 1017) is set at wage level 54, NOK 550 800 in the Norwegian State Salary Scale.

• Advantages within the Government Pension Fund for loan, insurance and pension
• Creative and collegial working environment
• A workplace with progressive development
• Flexible working hours

• Active university sports team

   

General information

The person who is appointed must abide by the applicable laws, agreements, and directives. The responsibilities and duties associated with the position may change with future reorganization at Nord University.

The public sector workforce is expected to reflect the diversity of the population in general. Nord University therefore encourages qualified candidates with disabilities, gaps in their CV, immigrant backgrounds or different life experience to apply. If applicants indicate they have disabilities or gaps in their CV, such details may be used anonymously for the purposes of governmental annual review.

Nord University is subject to the Security Act, which imposes requirements for handling protected and sensitive information. To enhance the security of the hiring process, Nord may conduct background checks on potential candidates.

Please note that all our candidates may be asked questions necessary in this context. This includes questions about any connections to countries that the PST has assessed as high-risk in its open threat assessment. 

Nord University is cautious about hiring individuals with connections to high-risk countries.

Application process

Applicants will be evaluated by an internal expert committee. Relevant applicants will be invited for an interview, trial lecture/presentation or other types of assessment.

The faculty reserves the right not to hire applicants who may be scientifically qualified but not meeting other criteria such as language, educational background or personal characteristics.

Application

• Application letter with description of your motivation for applying for the position
• Complete CV (education, work and teaching experience and overview of any scientific publications)
• A project description (maximum 4 pages), based on the theme mentioned earlier in this announcement, including the theoretical anchoring, methodological approaches, and a progress plan for the three-year fellowship period. If you have employed AI-powered generative language models to prepare the project description, a declaration must be included at the end of the document, stating the extent to which you have relied on such models.
• Copy of diploma for both bachelor and master education and relevant certificates
• Copy of the applicant’s master’s thesis as a PDF file
• Name and contact information of 2-3 references (name, your relation to the person, email and phone number)

• Other activities of the applicant that is relevant for the position

   

Once the application period has ended a list of applicants will be published. Note that, in special cases, the identity of applicants to a position may be made public even when a particular applicant has requested that the application be processed confidentially. Applicants requesting an exemption from publication of their identity must explain their reasons for doing so in their application. In this case, advance notice will be given in the event of a decision to make any information about the applicant public.