PhD Research Fellow in Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics

About the position

Position as PhD fellow in Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics is available at the Department of Physics. The position is funded by the University of Oslo (UiO) as part of the Norwegian Nuclear Research Centre (NNRC). 

Starting date no later than October 1, 2026.

The fellowship period is three years.

A fourth year may be considered, and it will involve 25 % of other career-promoting work, which normally consists of teaching and/or supervision. This is dependent upon the qualifications of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

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

Project description

One of the research focuses of the Nuclear Physics group is the application of nuclear physics for medical applications. This includes studies of novel production pathways for medically relevant radionuclides. Such radionuclides are used for a range of current cancer procedures, where the decay radiation is used for diagnostic and/or treatment purposes. Unlike external beam therapy, which is used to irradiate a tumor in a predetermined sites in the patient, the biomolecules employed by targeted radionuclide therapy are attracted towards cancerous cells throughout the body. This enables the simultaneous treatment of unidentified, secondary malignant growths. In particular, this project is focused on emerging alpha-emitting radionuclides for targeted alpha therapy (TAT): an exciting new treatment modality for cancer. The PhD student will be part of a project to re-establish the production of the alpha emitter 211At at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory (OCL) at UiO.

This research topic has a clear societal impact and is part of the Norwegian Nuclear Research Centre (NNRC), which is focused on strengthening Norway's research capacity and competence in nuclear science. This project will be conducted in collaboration with NNRC industry partners: Bayer and Norsk Medisinsk Syklotronsenter. Another important collaborator will be the University of California—Berkeley, which is an academic partner within the NNRC and a long-standing collaborator of UiO.

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, with specialization in nuclear technology or nuclear physics and its application for medical physics  
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• A scientific profile relevant for the nuclear medical applications research programme, as outlined above
• A solid background in scientific computing, including proficiency in Python programming

Candidates without a master’s degree have until June 30, 2026 to complete the final exam.

Desired qualifications:

The following qualifications are considered strongly desirable and will be used in the ranking of the candidates:

• Experience with gamma-ray detectors
• Experience with data analysis techniques relevant for extracting absolute cross sec-tions and stacked-target experiments
• Familiarity with data analysis tools such as Curie and/or ROOT
• Experience with using nuclear-reaction codes which are commonly used to predict the reaction cross sections for medical isotope production, e.g. TALYS, TENDL, CoH, ALICE and EMPIRE
• Teaching experience
• For candidates who would like to apply for a fourth year including teaching, good knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is strongly preferred

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:

We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic and hard-working candidate with the ambition to gain new insights and publish papers in leading, international journals. Applicants must show good interpersonal skills and be willing to work in close collaboration with the project PIs and other members of the project team, as well as have the ability to work independently. 

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:

• Application cover letter- statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, positions, research experience, pedagogical experience, and other relevant activities)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records and letters of rec-ommendation
• 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
• Applicants who are interested in teaching need to include a description of their motivation for and (if any) experience with teaching

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job". Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.

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.