PhD combining optical imaging with 3D tracking to map neural coding of body posture

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the position

We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated PhD candidate with a background in neuroscience, biology, biotechnology, quantitative biology, other physical sciences or engineering, to apply to a recently developed, cutting-edge (unpublished) miniature two-photon microscopes to perform pioneering work establishing the cellular basis of posture coding in the neocortex. The successful candidate will perform neural recordings in a laboratory setting while tracking multiple aspects of behavior in rodents. They should have a good intuition for rodent behavior, steady hands, and a strong motivation for analyzing large neural & behavioral datasets.

About the institute and associated labs

The Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience is part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU. It was established as a Centre of Excellence in 2002, again in 2012 and again in 2023, which has never happened before in Norway. It was designated as a Kavli Foundation Institute in 2007 (www.kavlifoundation.org). The work of its two founding directors, Edvard and May-Britt Moser, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014. 

The position is part of a collaboration between the research groups of Assoc. Prof. Weijian Zong (group page here) and Prof. Jonathan Whitlock (https://www.whitlocklab.org/) at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience (KISN). The student will be co-supervised by both Zong and Whitlock. The collaborative project will combine the Whitlock lab’s quantitative approach to naturalistic animal behavior with the field-leading mini-2photon (MINI-2P) imaging technology from the Zong lab. 

The Whitlock group was established at KISN under the auspices of an ERC starting grant in 2014. The lab pioneered a platform combining single-unit recordings in freely moving rats with 3D motion capture, resulting in the discovery the neural encoding of body posture spanning the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and frontal motor cortex (M2) (Mimica et al., Science, 2018). The group showed more recently that such tuning extends to primary cortical areas (A1, V1, S1 and M1; Mimica et al., Nat. Commun., 2023). Dr. Zong established his group at the Kavli Institute in 2023, focusing on developing cutting-edge optical tools to monitor and manipulate neural activity in naturally behaving animals, with the goal of understanding the rulesets underlying computation in cortical microcircuits. Dr. Zong has extensive experience in cutting-edge optical and laser instrumentation, including the development and application of  the MINI-2P—enabling multiplane imaging of thousands of neurons in the cortex of freely moving mice (W. Zong et al., Cell, 2022). This transformative technology was featured in Nature (write-up here) and is now commercially available and used in universities and research institutions around the world.

Both Zong and Whitlock hold FRIPRO grants from the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and are supported by the Centre of Excellence funding Scheme by the RCN (the Centre for Algorithms in the Cortex), as well as the Kavli Foundation. The Zong group is further supported through the Norwegian Brain Initiative (NORBRAIN) for the development of next generation MINI-2P microscopes for ultrahigh throughput, multi-brain-region and voltage imaging in freely moving animals. The current position will be associated with these projects. 

The Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment that advocates active collaboration, and where diversity of ideas, culture, identity is embraced and encouraged. 

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the research group
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• At the time of starting the position, you must have a relevant Master’s degree in neuroscience, biology, medicine, physics, electronic engineering, optics, nanoscience, biomedical engineering, or related fields with a strong motivation to adapt new technology to answer neuroscience questions.
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you maybe considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme 
• Excellent communication skills in English are imperative, both orally and written.
• Documented experience with scientific programming (e.g. Python, Matlab, R; any history of activity on GitHub) as well as computational or statistical methods for data analysis.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Prior experience recording from awake behaving animals (the current project will use MINI-2P Ca2+ imaging).
• Documented experience with processing and analyzing neural imaging data including calcium or voltage imaging.
• Techniques used in cellular and molecular neuroscience (e.g. optogenetics, cell patching, virus design). 
• Documented experience with rodents’ surgery and experiments (e.g. a certificate from the course in Animal Research or equivalent). 

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Work structured and independently, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals
• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions 
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Applicants are expected to bring a strong motivation for pushing the front edge of neuroscience technology, a good intuition for working with animals, and a solid understanding of systems neuroscience. You should also have strong communication skills and be able and interested to work within a results-oriented, interdisciplinary team, with a strong motivation to develop new methods to understand neural algorithms in the mammalian brain.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 4 years. 

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in medicine within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme through out the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master’s thesis, if the Master's degree is completed at the time of application. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1 page) 
• Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page)
• Any relevant publications. Joint work will only be considered provided that a short summary outlining the applicant's contributions is attached.
• 2 letters of reference, as well as contact information for references.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.
 

When assessing who is best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Dr. Weijian Zong: weijian.zong@ntnu.no or Dr. Jonathan Whitlock: jonathan.whitlock@ntnu.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Camilla Perrin Wenaas: camilla.p.wenaas@ntnu.no or Sissel Sollien: sissel.sollien@ntnu.no

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For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.