PhD Fellow in Evolutionary Biochemistry

The position

A 4-year PhD position in Evolutionary Biochemistry is available at the Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, within the Host–Microbe Interaction (HMI) research group. The position is part of the LacZymes project, led by Dr. Christopher Frøhlich.

General information about the position.

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 

Do you hold a Master’s degree in molecular biology (or a related field) and have a strong interest in the molecular mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance development? Are you motivated to conduct interdisciplinary research at one of the northernmost universities in the world? If so, this PhD position may be of interest to you.

The successful candidate will join a project aiming to uncover the molecular mechanisms of AMR evolution at the enzymatic level. To address this, the project integrates ancestral sequence reconstruction, directed evolution, pre-steady-state and steady-state enzyme kinetics, and X-ray crystallography. Candidates with experience in one or more of these areas are encouraged to apply.

The PhD candidate will report to Dr. Christopher Frøhlich and is expected to contribute actively to the project while developing expertise at the interface of molecular biology, enzymology, and evolutionary biology.

The PhD candidate will work on the following tasks: 

• Manage their own research project
• Experimental design and execution
• Enzyme evolution and selection
• Enzyme production and purification
• Biochemical enzyme characterization
• Structural and functional characterization
• Writing scientific papers and a PhD thesis
• Presenting the work in national and international arenas

Personal characteristics:
The applicant should 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 molecular evolution and AMR as well as scientific dissemination. In the evaluation of which applicant is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience, and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in this position announcement. The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD fellow

Applicants are required to submit a motivation letter describing how the position aligns with their research interests.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Dr. Christopher Frøhlich:

• phone: +47 46 96 87 78
• email: christopher.frohlich@uit.no

Qualifications

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree in molecular biology, microbiology, chemistry or equivalent education, with a grade of C or better. Candidates who have not yet completed their Master’s education must submit a written statement from their main supervisor stating the tentative date of their Master’s defence.
• Experience in at least two of the following areas: molecular cloning, protein expression and purification, biochemical characterization of enzymes (e.g. kinetic investigations), X-ray crystallography
• Documented oral and written English skills

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.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in the field of AMR and AMR mechanisms
• Experience in coding (e.g. Python) and competence with computer-based analytical tools (e.g., Pymol)
• Knowledge of a Scandinavian language
• Experience in writing publications
• Experience in a biosafety level-2 laboratory environment

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. (The motivation letter will also be considered.) In addition, professional experience and other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme will be taken into consideration.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

• Have good collaboration skills
• Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
• Wants to contribute to a good working environment

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 580 000 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: 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: 

• A motivation letter describing how this position aligns with the applicant’s research interests.
• CV, including a list of publications, if applicable. 
• 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
• Two references with contact information

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 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. 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.