PhD Research Fellow in Active Matter Physics for Glioblastoma Invasion

About the position

A PhD Research Fellowship is available at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, within the interdisciplinary research team GLIOFORCE – Targeting Cellular Biomechanics to Block Tumour Cell Invasion. GLIOFORCE is a newly established Life Science Convergence Environment that brings together physics, biomedicine, engineering, and pharmacy to address fundamental challenges in cancer research.

Starting date no later than September 15, 2026.

The fellowship period is four years, including 25 % of other career-promoting work. This may involve teaching and/or project-related activities such as contributing to consortium seminars, maintaining project websites, laboratory assistance, or other tasks that support the research environment.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

Job description

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and invasive brain cancers, characterized by rapid progression and resistance to existing therapies. Increasing evidence shows that mechanical interactions—at the level of cells, nuclei, and the surrounding tissue—play a central role in enabling tumor invasion. Understanding and exploiting these physical mechanisms represents a promising and largely untapped therapeutic avenue.

This PhD position is part of the GLIOFORCE project, an interdisciplinary initiative investigating mechano-adaptation as a targetable vulnerability in glioblastoma. The successful candidate will join a collaborative interdisciplinary team and work alongside three other PhD students. The research will focus on developing predictive computational physics models of cancer cell mechanics and invasion, with the goal of identifying biomechanical “tipping points” where invasion becomes mechanically unfeasible.

This project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to fundamental physics with direct biomedical relevance, while developing advanced skills in computational physics modeling and interdisciplinary research.

Research objectives and tasks

The PhD project combines theoretical and computational physics with close integration of experimental data. Key tasks include:

• Developing predictive models of active, deformable cells, capturing nuclear and cytoskeletal mechanics and cell–environment interactions 
• Identify dynamical transitions in single-cell and collective invasion dynamics within complex, confined environments 
• Calibrating and validating models using our experimental data generated within GLIOFORCE
• Identifying biomechanical thresholds and regime shifts that constrain invasion, and contributing to an open-source modeling framework

What skills are important in this role?

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required qualifications:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in physics or applied mathematics
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Strong background in theoretical modelling, preferably within active matter physics
• Solid programming skills

Desired qualifications:

• Experience within active matter physics, fluid/solid mechanics
• Experience with data analysis
• Familiarity with high-performance computing or large-scale simulations
• Interest in close collaboration with experimental researchers

Language requirement:

• Good oral and written communication skills in English
• English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements:
  https://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/regulations/regulations.html#toc8

Grade requirements:
The norm is as follows:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information see: http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

What are we looking for in you?

Personal skills:

• Intellectually curious and motivated to solve complex problems 
• Ability to communicate clearly with both specialist and non-specialist
• Open-minded, collegial, and comfortable engaging in a social and interdisciplinary research environment
• High level of motivation, responsibility, and perseverance

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We can offer you

• A pleasant and stimulating work environment
• Good welfare schemes
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities
• Career development programmes
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Salary in position as PhD Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 - 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund 

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues, could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. 

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, work experience and academic work, including any scientific publications and theses, and other qualifying activity)
• Transcripts of records, copies of the original Bachelor’s and Master’s degree diploma (see below)
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee, including exercises or problem sets the applicant has designed 
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
• Documentation of English proficiency if applicable

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian), Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.  

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.