PhD scholarship within Bayesian modelling of disease occurrence

About the position

At the Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Science (NMBU), there is a vacant PhD position in Bayesian methods for estimation of disease occurrence. This is a temporary position with a duration of 3 years. In both humans and animals, there is an increasing availability of samples and data collected for purposes other than research (so-called secondary data). Unfortunately, such secondary data are often not representative of the broader population due to non-random sampling, and they may also contain misclassified observations resulting from imperfect test accuracy or recording systems (i.e., noisy and potentially biased “labels”). Consequently, when these data are used to estimate disease occurrence, the results are subject to both selection bias and misclassification bias.

In the Trash‑To‑Treasure project, we aim to turn these challenges into opportunities. By developing and applying a cutting-edge Bayesian statistical framework, we seek to estimate true disease occurrence based on imperfect, biased, and noisy data. The methods will be specifically tailored to data from pigs, cattle, and dogs, enabling more reliable information on disease occurrence to support improved decision-making. 

As a PhD student, you will be supervised by a strong team of experienced supervisors (Ingrid Toftaker, Esben Østergaard Eriksen, Aliaksandr Hubin, and Matt Denwood) with complementary expertise in veterinary epidemiology, Bayesian statistical modelling, machine learning, and statistical programming. You will be part of both the Veterinary Epidemiology Research Group and the Research Group for Bioinformatics and Applied Statistics at NMBU. In addition, you will visit the Epidemiology and Disease Control Research Group at the University of Copenhagen. As you will work with data from a larger project developing new diagnostic tools for detecting pathogens in pigs, you will also be affiliated with this project group, which includes Marit Gaastra Maaland and Marianne Oropeza‑Moe at NMBU in Sandnes. Through your PhD, you will acquire widely applicable skills in inferential statistics, data science, and statistical programming, as well as a broader understanding of key challenges related to applying statistical models to real-world, messy data. 

Applicants should note that an application for a PhD position at NMBU is simultaneously an application for admission to a PhD programme at the institution. Documentation required to verify that the admission requirements are fulfilled must be uploaded as attachments.

Main tasks

• Apply Bayesian latent class modelling to estimate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of two novel diagnostic tests for pathogens causing lameness in pigs.
• Clean and wrangle register data on pigs and cattle and/or dogs.
• Estimate the true prevalence of M. hyosynoviae in Norwegian pigs using the developed statistical framework.
• Further develop the framework by incorporating machine-learning algorithms and allowing sensitivity and specificity to depend on additional variables.
• Apply the framework to simulated data and to data from health recording systems in dogs and/or cattle.
• Carry out a research stay at the University of Copenhagen to further develop skills in advanced inferential statistics.
• Write manuscripts suitable for publication in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and prepare a PhD thesis.
• Present the research at national and/or international conferences.
• Participate in the educational component of the PhD program, including completion of required coursework.

The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with a view to completing a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period. 

Competence

We are either seeking a candidate with a quantitative background (e.g. mathematics, statistics, data science, epidemiology, quantitative ecology, machine learning, or computer science) who is motivated to work with animal health, or a veterinarian or animal scientist with strong quantitative skills and the talent and motivation to further develop expertise in statistical modelling.

To be eligible for the position, the candidate must meet the requirements for admission to one of the PhD programmes at NMBU.

Admission to a PhD programme requires that the applicant has a relevant academic background; a master's degree, a cand.med.vet. degree, or an equivalent qualification, in accordance with the descriptions in the national qualifications framework. The applicant must have a documented strong academic background relevant to the position and be able to demonstrate proficiency in English, both written and spoken. For more detailed information about the admission criteria, PhD Regulations and the relevant PhD programme description.

Required qualifications

• Academic degree at Master’s level (or equivalent) in a relevant subject such as statistics, data science, machine learning, epidemiology, public health, veterinary science or animal science.
• Experience (from education or professional work) with advanced statistical analysis.
• Documented strong academic background. 
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English.
• Good programming skills in an interpreted language such as R, Stata, Julia, MATLAB, or Python.

Applicants completing their degree during spring 2026 may also apply but cannot assume the position until the degree has been completed.

Qualifications considered an advantage

• Proficiency with statistical software (e.g. R, Stata, SPSS).
• Programming skills in a compiled language such as C, C++, or Rust.
• Experience with software development, including version control systems (particularly Git).
• Experience with Bayesian inferential statistics (e.g. Stan, JAGS, BUGS).
• Experience with stochastic modelling.
• Experience with the validation of statistical methods.
• Experience with epidemiological methods.
• Experience with human or veterinary health or production register data.
• Experience in conducting research.
• Knowledge of pig, dog, and/or cattle populations, particularly in Norway.
• Understanding of animal biology and disease.

Personal qualities

• Ability to work systematically and independently.
• Strong critical thinking skills.
• Excellent analytical and reasoning abilities, with the capacity to effectively synthesize information and identify connections.
• Openness to receiving and acting on constructive feedback.
• Good social and collaborative skills and enjoys interdisciplinary teamwork

Personal suitability will be emphasized

Remuneration and further information

The position is placed in position code 1017 PhD. Fellow, NOK 550.800 – 660.000. PhD candidates are normally placed at salary level NOK 550.800. This is a temporary position with a duration of 3 years. Seniority promotion in the position. 

Admission to a PhD program is a prerequisite for appointment to the PhD scholarship position.

The research work will be associated with the project Contributions to Animal Welfare in Pig Production: Developing and employing Diagnostic Tools for investigations of Pathogens associated with Lameness.

This position is a training/educational position. Grant-funded travel abroad may be expected.

Employment is conducted according to national guidelines for University and Technical College PhD scholars, and in accordance with the Civil Servant Act, the Security Act, and the Export Control Act. 

 For questions regarding the position contact Associate professor Ingrid Toftaker phone: +4767232115, e-mail: ingrid.toftaker@nmbu.no. 

Information for PhD applicants and general Information to applicants

Application

Send application electronically via the link "Apply for this job" at the top of this page. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form. Applications that are not submitted electronically through Jobbnorge by the deadline will not be considered.

Application Deadline: May 23. 2026

Your CV must be entered in Jobbnorge's CV form and not just included as an attachment. This is in order to be able to comply with the regulations to the Public Administration Act §15. In the application, the candidate must confirm that information and documentation (in the form of attachments) submitted via the job application can also be used by NMBU in a possible admission process. Applicants invited for an interview are expected to present original diplomas and certificates.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

• Motivation letter
• CV (Entered in Jobbnorge's form)
• Certified copies of relevant academic diplomas and certificates. (i.e. Diploma, transcript. Diploma supplement for both bachelor and master). Diplomas, transcripts and diploma supplements that are not in Norwegian or English must be uploaded in the original language. An English translation of these documents must also be attached.
• Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement, or a similar document, which describes in detail the study program and grading system.

The Faculty of Veterinary medicine has its own webpage about requirements for applicants with foreign education: https://www.nmbu.no/en/utenlandsk-utdanning

• Documentation of proficiency in written and oral English in accordance with Forskrift for graden philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) ved Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet - Lovdata
• Additional relevant documentation of professional knowledge (for example, list of scientific works). If it is difficult to judge the applicant’s contribution for publications with multiple authors, a short description of the applicant’s contribution must be included.
• Names and contact information for two references. 

About the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at NMBU is Norway’s only veterinary educational institution. We offer comprehensive expertise in veterinary medicine and veterinary public health. Our faculty educates veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and doctoral candidates in veterinary science, and conduct research in veterinary medicine and related biomedical disciplines. We have 500 students and 430 employees.

The faculty consists of the following departments: Department of Preclinical Sciences and Pathology, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, and Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences. We also operate the University Animal Hospital, which is closely integrated with our educational and research activities.  The hospital receives patients from across Norway.