LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET
PhD Fellow in Translational Cancer Research
Deadline: 21.05.2024
Faculty of Health Sciences
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university 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.
The Faculty of Health Sciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway represents a newly created entity gathering almost all possible health study programs. This facilitates an unique interdisciplinarity and innovation in health education and research. We work closely with the services in the North to solve tomorrow's challenges.
A PhD position is available at the Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Translational Cancer Research Group. This opportunity is ideal for candidates who are passionate about integrating and analyzing multi-omics data in a substantial cohort of lung cancer patients. The research primarily aims to develop and validate biomarkers that enhance patient diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic response prediction.
The position is for a period of three years. 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 position is financed by Northern Norway Regional Health Authority, and the project is led by Associate Professor Mehrdad Rakaee.
Key responsibilities of the candidate:
Developing innovative approaches: You will be responsible for developing machine learning and algorithms to manage and analyze next-generation sequencing data to understand its relationship with clinical outcomes.
Integrating multimodal data: Implement methods to integrate diverse and orthogonal data sources, including genomics, transcriptomics, pathomics, and clinical variables.
Data analysis and visualization: Employ established tools for analyzing and visualizing genomic alterations and transcriptomic signatures, contributing to a deeper understanding of lung cancer biology
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
This project is based on a large Scandinavian multicenter prospective study, the TNM-I trial (NCT03299478), focusing on biomarker implementation for lung cancer patients. This study included around 1000 patients and is sponsored by University Hospital of North Norway (UNN). Its primary goal is to establish an immune cell scoring system for clinical applications in lung cancer. The study involves multiple centers, including University Hospital of North Norway, Oslo University Hospital, St. Olav's University Hospital, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen, and Odense University Hospital.
In this project, targeted DNA sequencing and gene expression analyses are conducted on a subset of patients. Additionally, there are ongoing developments in AI-pathology tools designed to extract histologic features from the study data. These tools are being developed by fellow researchers involved in the study.
As a PhD candidate, you will have the opportunity to work closely with the Molecular Pathology Lab at the Department of Clinical Pathology/UNN. This project follows up on our recent publication in the Annals of Oncology journal (PMID: 37100205) and features collaborations with well-known institutions like the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. There is potential for the candidate to contribute to these ongoing projects.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact:
• A master’s degree in statistics, bioinformatics, data science, or a related field.
• Strong background in machine/deep learning for multimodal data fusion.
• Proficiency in python programming and data visualization tools.
• Experience with statistical analyses in R.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English.
Preferred:
• Proficiency in using Git, particularly with GitHub
• Experience with genomic and transcriptomic data analysis.
• Experience or interest in learning about the field of molecular biology, bioinformatics and similar.
• Previous relevant publications are an advantage.
We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position, inluding personal qualificaitons:
• High motivation for the field.
• Work both independently and in teams with the development and integration of applications for use in the department.
• Good collaboration and communication skills.
• Proactive, flexible, and “can-do” attitude.
Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is also beneficial.
In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.
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 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.
UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
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.
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 NOKUT. 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.
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.
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 532 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
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.
Application
Your application must include:
Cover letter explaining your motivation, research interests and skills you bring to the position
CV
Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
Documentation of English proficiency (Requried for graduates from non-English-instructed programs)
Contact information for two references
Master’s thesis, and any other academic works
Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.
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.
