PhD fellow within Cultivability of Marine Microbiomes

The position

UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE), has a PhD fellow position available within Cultivability of Marine Microbiomes. The overall goal of the position is to characterize the microbial diversity within a chosen microbiome using culture-independent molecular methods and compare whether new culturing methods increase the cultivability of microbes compared to traditional culturing methods. The position is hosted by the The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) and funded through a grant by Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS).The position is located in the Marbio research group.

The position of PhD Fellow is a fixed term position for a period of 4 years. The nominal length of the PhD program is three years. The fourth year is distrubuted as 25 % each year, and will consist of teaching and other duties for the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics.

Marbio is an analytical platform for natural products at UiT. The expertise at Marbio involves diversity and ecology of marine fungi and bioassay-guided purification to isolate active compounds of Arctic marine organisms to be included in a library of natural products. Arctic and sub-Arctic marine organisms are explored, searching for compounds with activities against bacteria, cancer and diabetes as well as compounds with immune-modulatory and antioxidative effects. Marbio’s screening campaign is based on a classic bioassay-guided fractionation approach supplemented with genome-based approaches.

CANS is a large strategic interdisciplinary centre at UiT - the Arctic University of Norway for research, education, innovation and dissemination related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). CANS currently involves fourteen research groups located at three faculties and covers topics within marine bioprospecting - identification and characterization of new antibacterial activities, design and synthesis of new antibiotics and resistance inhibitors, the evolution and molecular epidemiology of AMR, host-microbe-drug interactions as well as antibiotic stewardship.

CANS aims to strengthen current activities, but also support new basic research in novel concepts for sustainable antibacterial activities in AMR-prevention and treatment strategies through new permanent positions

NCFS is a part of BFE and undertakes research and research-based teaching of high national and international quality in an interdisciplinary environment. Research activity is provisionally organized into groups focusing on living marine resources, seafood science, fish health, marine drug discovery, resource management, marine management and resource economics.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time, within 6 months after receiving the offer.

The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to a PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD candidate shall participate in the faculty’s organized research training, and the PhD project shall be completed during the period of employment. Information about the application process for admission to the PhD programme, application form and regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor
(PhD) are available here.

The project/ The position's field of research

The successful candidate should do basic research in the field of microbial cultivability within a given microbiome. Research on how to increase the cultivability, i.e., be able to culture a larger microbial fraction of diverse marine microbiomes is relevant for Marbio and CANS, as successful research in this area contributes to the knowledge how to better access previously uncultured microbes and their antibacterial properties. The research questions should be approached using culture-independent methods and culturing, whereas the study system is negotiable and can be selected based on candidate’s previous knowledge.

The candidate will have direct access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at Marbio including automated microbial colony picking and screening system and a modern molecular biology lab. Through NCFS, CANS and UiT a broader set of infrastructure is available including high-throughput sequencing, powerful computational, data analysis and storage resources (ELIXIR) and top-modern research vessels that are fully functional in Arctic conditions.

The candidate will be engaged in:

Planning and conducting field and laboratory experiments scrutinizing changes in community composition and transcriptional response of microbiomes
Extracting DNA/RNA from microbiomes and using other molecular biology tools
Analysing omics data using bioinformatics tools
Supervising MSc students and teaching in relevant courses at NCFS

Contact

Further information about the position and UiT is available by contacting Associate professor Teppo Rämä:

Phone: +47 776 49163
Email: teppo.rama@uit.no

Or Professor Jeanette Hammer Andersen:

Phone: +47 776 49261
Email: jeanette.h.andersen@uit.no

We offer

A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
Pension scheme through the state pension fund

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: Welcome to UiT!

Qualifications

The successful candidate is expected to hold a Norwegian MSc degree within a field relevant for the research theme of the position (e.g., microbiology, bioinformatics, molecular ecology), or a corresponding foreign MSc degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree.

We are looking for a keen candidate, who has the motivation and ambition to create a scientific career. The suitable candidate must document experience in:

Cultivation of microbes
metatranscriptomics and/or metagenomics methods applied to microbial communities

It is considered advantageous if the candidate has previous experience in cultivation of fungi, broad application of bioinformatic tools and fieldwork in challenging conditions.

Moreover, the candidate must show a good command of English, both spoken and written. Proficiency in a Norwegian/ Scandinavian language is an advantage.

We are seeking for a committed candidate with relevant skills who is capable of doing independent laboratory work and passionate about developing her/his own research. Candidate should have excellent communication and organizational skills in order to work in a multidisciplinary team, do project management and outreach, and supervision of MSc students. Emphasis is given to personal suitability.

When applying for the position, the applicant is encouraged to submit a project proposal for the qualifying work. The project proposal should be max four pages long, introduce the research field of microbial cultivability including the major gaps of knowledge and outline how the applicant will solve some of the challenges.

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

The position requires admission to the Faculty's PhD programme. Information about requirements is available here.

Application

The application must be submitted electronically via www.jobbnorge.no and shall include:

Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
CV
Diplomas, diploma supplements and transcripts (all degrees)
Documentation on English proficiency. This website states how English profiency shall be documented.
Written references
Contact information to 1-3 references
Master thesis, and any other academic works

The documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language.

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.

As many 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.

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.

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.

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. UiT will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to Offentleglova 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.

UiT - Developing the high north

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.