PhD Research Fellow in Plant Molecular Biology

About the position

Position as PhD Research Fellow in plant molecular biology available at CEES, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo.

The fellowship period is three years.

A fourth year maybe considered and it will involve 25 percent of other career-promoting work. Other career-promoting work may consist of teaching, supervision, and/or research assistance. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

Starting date no later than October 1, 2026.

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

Place of work is CEES, Department of Biosciences, at Blindern, Oslo.

Project description

The PhD will be hired on the project "Tuning heat-shock memory in plants" funded by the University of Oslo, which is a collaboration between two projects: The REPEAT project ("The functional and evolutionary importance of simple repeats in the genome"), led by Professor Kjetill S Jakobsen and Professor Melinka Butenko, and HotSpot ("Stress-induced mutations in evolution"), which is a recently funded NFR project led by William Reinar.

The PhD project will investigate molecular mechanisms that regulate heat stress memory, which is a vital mechanism for plant resilience. The aim is to understand the role of naturally occurring short tandem repeat polymorphisms in regulatory regions of heat stress memory genes, and the candidate will apply both wet lab molecular biology, genome editing, trait phenotyping, imaging/microscopy, and computational methods to meet this aim.

The project aims to advance the mechanistic understanding of heat stress memory and provide a framework for targeted tuning of this mechanism. The project provides an excellent opportunity for the candidate to conduct high-impact research facilitating pursual of further academic and/or commercial ambitions within plant sciences after project completion. 

The work will be conducted in labs and facilities connected to the Department of Biosciences, UiO, which is planned to re-locate to the new Life Science Building in 2026/2027 (https://www.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/life-science/about/building/)

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 molecular biology, biology, cell biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, ecology and evolution, or related fields
• Experience with molecular work in Arabidopsis thaliana or other plants
• Documented applied skills in molecular biology techniques (cloning, transformation)
• Documented applied skills in plant cell imaging
• Documented training in Python and/or R
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

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

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with genome editing in a plant system
• Solid knowledge of gene regulation in plants
• Strong interest in ecology and evolution
• Experience in plant stress-trials and plant phenotyping
   

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 looking for a person with a positive attitude that can work both independently and as part of a team, with the ambition and drive to conduct high-quality research.

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. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here. 

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 and a description of relevant skills (max 1 page)
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
• Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma and transcripts of records (see below)
• Documentation of English proficiency if applicable
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

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.