Phd Fellow Eu Msca Doctoral Network Project: Endamr

A PhD position is available at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, within the Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology (MicroPop) research group, led by Prof. Pål J. Johnsen.

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 part the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network “ENDAMR: Exploring Novel Drivers of Anti-Microbial Resistance” recruiting 10 Doctoral Candidates (DCs). The doctoral candidates will be hired in one of the following institutions: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (2), Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (1), Umeå University (1), University of Tübingen(1), Uppsala University (1), Human Technopole (1), The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (1), Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1), and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1). Project link: https://endamr.eu/

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

Duties of the position

The PhD candidate will work on the following tasks:

• Manage your research project
• Experimental design and execution
• Write scientific papers and a PhD thesis
• Presenting your work in national and international arenas

Antibiotic resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue, with 5 million deaths in 2019 linked to AMR worldwide. These numbers are comparable to the toll of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Without new solutions, AMR is projected to soon become one of the leading causes of death in the EU. Addressing this challenge requires the development of new, effective antibiotics, but this alone is not sufficient due to the rapid evolution of bacteria. Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of AMR is vital to delay or reverse resistance in both existing and new antibiotics, especially since no new broad-spectrum antibiotics have been developed since the 1990s and their development is a lengthy process with high attrition rates. The ENDAMR doctoral network aims to better equip researchers in Europe to understand and develop new strategies to tackle AMR and prepare Doctoral Candidates for various career paths beyond academia, including teaching, science communication, and entrepreneurship. Doctoral Candidates will gain transferable skills and learn from industry role models, equipping them to make significant contributions to solving the AMR crisis.

The succsesssful candidate will be hired to work on WP4: Collateral susceptibility effects of antineoplastic drug exposure on antibiotic resistance

EU mobility requirements: The succesful candidate cannot have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway more than 12 months within the last 3 years.

Project Description: This research project examines how cancer drugs affect bacterial evolution and antibiotic resistance. The Doctoral Candidate will study how bacteria respond genetically and phenotypically to antineoplastic drugs, identifying patterns of cross-resistance and sensitivity between cancer drugs and antibiotics. The project aims to find drug combinations that reduce treatment failure
in cancer patients with infections by leveraging collateral sensitivity—cases where resistance to one
drug makes bacteria more vulnerable to another.

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Pål J. Johnsen:

• phone: +47 77 62 31 56
• email: paal.johnsen@uit.no

Required qualifications:

• Master's degree in molecular biology, microbiology, or equivalent education with a grade of C or better.
• Experience within the following areas: standard microbiological and molecular methodologies including, but not limited to bacterial cultivation, bacterial growth rate and/or fitness assays, antibiotic susceptibility testing, PCR and cloning work.
• Documented excellent oral and written English skills. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
• Applicants must document proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at a minimum of level A2. If the candidate does not document proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2, then the doctoral fellow must complete a language course equal to 15 ECTS before the end of the fixed-term period. UiT will facilitate this.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with computer-based analytical tools
• Experience with experimental evolution
• Experience with quantification of drug effects on bacterial growth

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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 536 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase

In addition:

• Monthly living allowance: monthly instalments before taxation and compulsory deductions of 3,400 euro*
• Monthly mobility allowance: 600 euro
• Monthly family allowance, if applicable: 660 euro

• Adjusted by the EU correction coefficient (see page 112 of the Work Programme version adopted on 6 December 2022 (European Commission Decision C(2022)7550)).

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

Your application must include:

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• CV
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Official transcripts 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
• Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish at a minimum of level A2 (if available)
• 2-3 references with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read more about us at uit.no/helsefak