Postdoctoral Researcher in Prostate Cancer Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

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

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

     

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About the position

The Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU, has a vacancy for a full time (100 %) post doctorial position. The project is funded by Helse Midt-Norge and will be conducted in the ProstOmics research group (https://www.ntnu.edu/isb/prostomics#/view/about), which is part of the broader CIMORe environment at the Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging. 

The group is located at Øya Campus as part of the integrated university hospital. Here, interdisciplinary cancer research, advanced imaging, and molecular analysis are brought together in a collaborative and dynamic setting. You will join a strong interdisciplinary research environment working to advance evidence‑based, personalized prostate cancer diagnostics and treatment in Norway. 

Your immediate leader is the project leader (Professor May-Britt Tessem, Dept. of Circulation and Medical Imaging). 

About the project 

This project focuses on seminal and urinary extracellular vesicles and their integration into prostate cancer risk stratification. EVs carry a rich molecular cargo, which is characterised using multi-omics approaches to identify biomarkers at the transcriptomic, proteomic, and lipidomic levels. The project comprises several steps, including sample collection through Biobank1, extracellular vesicles isolation from semen and urine, and downstream multi-omics data analysis. 

Duties of the position

• Conduct high-quality research following the outlined framework 
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination/academic outreach
• Attend international conferences, workshops and courses
• Be involved in biobanking sperm and urine samples.
• Instruct in the isolation protocols for exosome extraction
• Perform multi-omics analyses on extracellular vesicles.
• Mentoring students, assisting with their research projects, and providing guidance on methodology and academic writing.

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a doctoral degree in Medical technology or similar areas or be in the final phase of your doctorate and can document that the thesis is to be submitted or that the defense date has been confirmed. Your application can be considered even if you have not defended. 
• Knowledge of prostate cancer biology 
• Experience with extracellular vesicles research
• Experience with multi-omics analyses (RNA and proteomics) 
• Experience with biobanking and sample collection 
• Experience with working with clinicians
• Good written and oral English

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

If you do not already have educational competence that meets the requirements for a position as associate professor in Norway, NTNU will arrange for you to acquire such competence during the employment period. In such cases, you will also be assigned relevant teaching as part of the career-promoting work.

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

As a result of the new Act relating to universities and university colleges with associated regulations of 01/08/2024, NTNU has, during a transitional period (for decisions on employment in recruitment positions before 1 August 2025), chosen to use the terms of employment in the old regulations of 31 January 2006 no. 102 on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, research fellow, scientific assistant and specialist candidate

Preferred selection criteria

• Hands-on experience with EV isolation protocols
• Expertise in EV quality control, characterisation and quantification
• Experience with RNA extraction protocols
• Comfortable working with RNA-seq pipelines, gene signature analysis, scripting and applying statistical thinking to omics data.
• Competence in R or similar analytical programs.
• Basic knowledge of the Norwegian language

Personal characteristics

• Reliable
• Proactive and problem-solving attitude
• Eager to collaborate within and across sections and disciplines
• Self-motivated and able to work independently
• Organized and structured
• Motivated by scientific rigor and societal impact
• Show curiosity and strong motivation for the subject 

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer 

• An exciting job with an important social mission 
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment 
• Career guidance throughout the postdoctoral program and together with you we will prepare a career plan, which contains the skills and knowledge you will acquire 
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues 
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU 
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

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

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 633 400, - per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 -years.

The position is conditional on external funding 

As an employee at NTNU, it is important to keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and to 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 be in 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-, Master's- and PhD degrees. 
• CV
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, you can attach a draft of the thesis. 
• Academic works - published or unpublished 
• Possible recommendation letters
• Name and contact information of minimum three referees

 

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. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

If you have had leave or another break in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the selection committee can take this into account and that the amount of your research may be reduced as a result.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal qualities. Motivation, ambitions and potential for research will also be emphasized in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in 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 list of applicants, 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 have any questions about the position, please contact May-Britt Tessem (Professor), phone: +47 92406886, email: may-britt.tessem@ntnu.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Lydia Lamminen (HR Senior Consultant), email: lydia.c.lamminen@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 24.04.2026

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.