PhD Fellow affiliated with the Vascular Biology Research Group (VBRG)

The position

The PhD position is available at Department of Medical Biology on the project “The role of endothelial fenestrations in health, disease and ageing”. The position is affiliated with the Vascular Biology Research Group (VBRG) at the Faculty of Health Sciences. 

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. 

Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project / The position’s field of research

The successful candidate will work on the project titled “Targeting endothelial fenestrations for healthy ageing”. This project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research in the healthy ageing. 

Ageing profoundly influences the vascular system, yet the cellular mechanisms underlying this decline remain incompletely understood. This PhD project will establish how ageing affects endothelial fenestrations, and underlying mechanisms in order to provide fundamental insights into endothelial ageing and pave the way for interventions that target microvascular health to promote healthy ageing. 

Advanced microscopy and imaging techniques—including super resolution optical imaging as well as electron microscopy will be central methods, together with cell and molecular biology techniques.The candidate must have a background in biomedicine and advanced imaging. 

The candidate will collaborate with other researchers and supervise master- and bachelor students in on-going projects. Relevant techniques include advanced imaging (light and electron microscopy), working with research animals, primary cells of rodent origin as well basic molecular biological techniques.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Associate professor Karolina Szafranska:

• phone: +47 462 52 062
• email: karolina.szafranska@uit.no  

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• Master’s degree within biomedicine, or medical biology. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis. You must document completion of your degree before commencement in the position.
• Documented oral and written English skills. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.  Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is also beneficial.

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with
  • microscopy (fluorescence/confocal and electron microscopy (SEM/TEM))
  • sample preparation (EM)
  • immunostaining
  • primary cell culture
  • aseptic techniques
  • image analysis (segmentation, object classification)
  • toxicity/viability cellular assays
  • bioinformatics and data analysis
• Scientific writing skills
• FELASA accreditation or willingness to obtain the approval for work with research animals
• Working with open radioactive sources accreditation or willingness to obtain it
• Knowledge of a Scandinavian language

Personal characteristics 

The applicant should have good communication and collaboration skills, be motivated, creative and ambitious, with a strong ability to work problem-solution orientated both in teams and independently. The applicant should be genuinely interested in the field of vascular biology, ageing and advanced imaging. 

We are seeking a candidate with a high degree of self-motivation and who is aiming to reach independence and take ownership of their project. Both a strong academic track record and a genuine interest in conducting research are essential to qualify for the position. The candidates Master’s thesis, academic track record, and other application materials must demonstrate this. We will emphasize personal suitability in our assessment. Emphasis shall also be attached to experience from popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity.

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme 

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health Sciences and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:  

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 

Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position. 

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 550 800 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
• HSL interne stillinger: Opportunity to apply for a scholarship for an extended research stay abroad

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application 

Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• CV
• Official diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language 
• Official transcripts of grades/academic record for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
• Official translation of diplomas and transcripts of records (ToR) to English or a Scandinavian language, if applicable
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency (If available)
• Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian (or a Scandinavian language) (If available)
• References with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. You may still apply if you are in the final stages of the master’s degree, but the master’s thesis must be submitted for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis and transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. 

Assessment 

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants. 

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. 

General information 

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants. 

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years. 

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.