PhD at the The university of Bergen, Faculty of Science and Technology (ENDOTRAIN DC11)

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PhD position

There is a vacancy for a PhD Research Fellow in mathematical modelling of sex-differences in the human adrenal cortex and its disorders at the Department of Informatics. The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years with the possibility of a 4th year with career-promoting work (e.g. teaching at the Department). The position is funded by the Doctoral Network: ENDOTRAIN (Digital Endocrinology Training Network to Combat Adrenal Diseases) . 

About MSCA Doctoral Networks 

The MSCA Doctoral Networks aim to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient doctoral candidates, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit. The MSCA Doctoral Networks raise the attractiveness and excellence of doctoral training in Europe. Read More about the MSCA Doctoral Networks. 

Starting date for the position in August 2026, at the latest. 

About the project/work tasks:

The position is a part of:

19 PhD Fellowships available in Digital Endocrinology in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (ENDOTRAIN).

Join Europe’s first doctoral network in digital endocrinology – integrating AI, sensor technology, omics, and clinical medicine to transform diagnosis and treatment of adrenal diseases. 

Digital medicine is entering a new era where human “digital twins” and sensor-based monitoring allow personalised diagnosis and treatment. ENDOTRAIN will train a new generation of interdisciplinary experts who merge clinical endocrinology, AI, data science, engineering, ethics and law into an integrated field of digital endocrinology. The programme focuses on adrenal disorders as a case study for advancing digital health in Europe.

 

About ENDOTRAIN:

ENDOTRAIN – Digital Endocrinology Training Network to Combat Adrenal Diseases – is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network funded under Horizon Europe (Grant No: 101227148). The project integrates clinical endocrinology, omics, artificial intelligence, data science, engineering, ethics, and law to develop innovative tools for diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of adrenal disorders.

Digital endocrine medicine is set to revolutionize healthcare by integrating technology, data, and personalized treatment, enabling more precise, efficient, and accessible care that disrupts traditional medical models. Advancing digital endocrine medicine to the next level of knowledge and translational value demands an ‘integrative’ approach that departs from the conventional ‘sum of monothematic experts’ towards the ‘merging of multiple themes in one expert’. In this fast developing field, interdisciplinary experts can better communicate across topics as dispersed as clinical medicine, data science (incl. machine learning and artificial intelligence), mathematics, engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, ethics, law, while adapting academic findings to real word needs.

 

ENDOTRAIN is poised to provide interdisciplinary experts needed to advance digital endocrine medicine research and clinical application. This doctoral network joins leading researchers and entrepreneurs from 12 countries to train 19 PhD-students, including four funded by Switzerland, across different disciplines and sectors. Exceptionally trained in digital endocrine medicine, these versatile DCs will be prepared to face broader challenges beyond endocrinology and become the next generation of clinicians, scientists, and innovators, equipped to enhance Europe’s capacity to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of digital medicine.

The network offers 19 interlinked doctoral projects hosted by universities, hospitals, and companies across 12 countries. Each project includes international secondments and training in digital medicine. 

Descriptions of the individual PhD-project is shown below, but please visit our webpage for further information: ENDOTRAIN DN

 

This PhD project is embedded in Work Package 3 (Trustworthy Data and Models) of the ENDOTRAIN network and aims to investigate in terms of computational modelling how glucocorticoid replacement therapies in female patients with adrenal hormone deficiency can be optimized to maintain or restore fertility. Fertility, influenced by hormones, environment, and psychology, is often reduced in these patients due to anovulation from unnatural hormone therapy.

The PhD candidate will leverage multimodal datasets from dynamic hormone profiling and biosensors for ambulatory assessment to develop mathematical models of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and its cross-talk interactions with the Hypothalamix-Pituitary-Ovarian (HPO) axis. The project aims are to: 

• construct a mathematical model to delineate the type and strength of cross-talk mechanisms between the HPA and HPO axis and their interactions with tissue glucose, blood pressure and sleep, 
• calibrate the model with wearable-based data (e.g., actigraphy, heart rate, temperature) and hormone profiles from healthy subjects and patients with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) under different treatment regimens,
• characterize inter- and intra-individual variability in model parameters to enable the generation of virtual patients,
• predict dynamic hormone profiles in healthy individuals and in patients with adrenal insufficiency,
• predict dynamic responses to glucocorticoid replacement therapy and compute optimal dosing regimens, 
• contribute to the development of computer platforms that support the prevention, diagnosis and management of endocrine disease (endocrine digital twins), 

Participants will collaborate closely with other doctoral candidates and engage in secondments to technical and clinical partners within the consortium. 

Research Fields

Computational Biology, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Endocrinology, Digital Health, Medical Sensors, Systems Physiology 

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a master's degree or equivalent education in Mathematics, Physics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Bioengineering or a closely related discipline with a strong mathematical/computational component. Master students can apply provided they complete their final master exam before 01.07.2026. It is a condition of employment that the master's degree has been awarded.
• Excellent programming skills (Python, Matlab or Julia) are a requirement.
• A solid background in mathematical modelling, preferably with ordinary and/or delay differential equations, is a requirement.
• Experience with model parameterisation, sensitivity analysis and optimisation is an advantage.
• Good dominion of time series analysis, dynamical systems theory and bifurcation analysis is an advantage.
• Strong interest in translational endocrinology, wearable device data and digital health technologies is an advantage.
• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and have good communication skills and capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Applicants must have excellent command of written and spoken English.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Special requirements for the position 

The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications. 

The candidate should work full-time on the project and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.

Participation in the interdisciplinary training of the ENDOTRAIN network is mandatory, including workshops, retreats, transferable skills courses, and cohort-wide meetings across Europe.

Eligibility (MSCA Doctoral Network rules)

• Applicants can be of any nationality.
• Must not have resided or carried out a main activity in the host country for more than 12 months in the past 36 months before start of the PhD.
• Must hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) enabling doctoral studies.
• Must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• English proficiency required.

Host Institution

University of Bergen (UiB), in collaboration with Haukeland University Hospital (HUH), offers a leading environment in clinical and translational endocrinology. The PhD candidate will be based at the Department of Informatics and will be member of the Computational Biology Unit (https://cbu.w.uib.no/). The Computational Biology Unit (CBU) works at the intersection of computer and life science. Its primary focus is on developing and implementing novel computational methods and apply these in the pursuit of fundamental biological questions. CBU is a cross-departmental research unit comprising groups from two different faculties at UiB - the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Faculty of Medicine - all co-located at the Department of Informatics. CBU has members with diverse competences including experts in bioinformatics, biology, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, and medicine. The candidate will benefit from access to state-of-the-art high performance computing facilities, multimodal datasets, computational training, and world-leading international collaborations.

Secondments

- Department of Computer Science, Sapienza University of Rom, Italy: to work on AI-based virtual twins (1 month)
- Department of Medicine IV, LMU University Hospital Munich, Germany: to calibrate the model with data collected by DC3 (1 month)

About the PhD position (applies to university PhD positions):

About the PhD Research Fellow position

The fellowship will be for a period of 3 years, with the possibility for a 4th year contingent on the qualifications of the candidate and the teaching needs of the department and will be decided by the Head of Department upon appointment. If a 4th year is granted, one year of career-promoting work associated with teaching, dissemination or research infrastructure/services, will be distributed over the full employment period and thus corresponding to 25 per cent of the time each year.

The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a qualifying post (e.g. research fellow, research assistant).

About the research training

As a PhD Research Fellow, you must participate in an approved educational programme for a PhD degree within a period of 3 years. The deadline for applying for admission to the PhD programme at The Faculty of Science and Technology is 2 months after you start your position or after the start of the research project that will lead to the PhD degree. It is a condition that you satisfy the enrolment requirements for the PhD programme at the University of Bergen.

We can offer:

• a good and professionally stimulating working environment 
• salary as PhD research fellow (code 1017) in the state salary scale. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 568 700. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
• enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• good welfare benefits
• travel and secondment budget included
• opportunities for international networking, industry exposure, and career development

Your application must include:

• Mandatory attachments: at the ENDOTRAIN webpages - including "1. Application form" - "2. CV" - "3. Mobility declaration" - "4. Motivation Letter"
• In the "Jobbnorge-CV form": Only fill in the basics of your 1) personal details, 2) short information about your degrees (in the field "Education / academic qualifications") - in order to minimise repetition with the CV attachment.
• a detailed justification of your qualifications in relation to the listed requirements, explaining how you meet each criterion. Additionally, you should address the "advantages" mentioned above, as these will be taken into account when ranking the candidates.  
• the names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor for the master's thesis or equivalent thesis 
• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not yet completed your master's degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming the expected date of award of your master's degree. Your master's degree must be documented with transcripts and/or diploma before starting in the position.
• relevant certificates/references
• approved documentation of proficiency in English (if required, cf. English language requirements for PhD admission)
• a list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list and/or code repository with links)

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge 

General information:

For further details about the position, please contact Prof. Susanna Röblitz (susanna.roblitz@uib.no).

For HR related questions contact HR Adviser Maria Svåsand.

Diversity is a strength that enables us to solve our tasks even better. UiB therefore needs qualified employees regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, worldview, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and age.

We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.

For more information regarding technical matters connected to the application process, please contact HR Adviser Selina Sia Hausberg 

Diversity and Inclusion

MSCA -Endotrain has a gender equality plan where gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply. 

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

We encourage applicants with disabilities, immigrant backgrounds, or gaps in their CV to apply. By indicating such circumstances in your application, you may receive favourable consideration. We ensure that at least one qualified applicant from each of these groups is invited for an interview as part of our commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity. For further information about the recruitment process, click here.

Life as a PhD candidate at UiB

Marion Claireaux tells about life and work as a PhD candidate at UiB.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrtp6VxMeJ4&index=2&list=PLf8ZIYfAO0qjhROTj6SthDbSScg0lSO6G

About MSCA Doctoral Networks 

The MSCA Doctoral Networks aim to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient doctoral candidates, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit. The MSCA Doctoral Networks raise the attractiveness and excellence of doctoral training in Europe. Read More about the MSCA Doctoral Networks.