About the position

The Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging has a vacancy for a PhD candidate. This position is a fixed term, full time (100 %) position for three years starting in autumn 2022.

For a position as a PhD candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The PhD candidate will develop and validate machine learning techniques for automatic assessment of digital lung cancer tissue sections. The main goal is to achieve more patient specific management through improved prognostic differentiation in lung cancer and to provide a deeper understanding of the pathology of the disease. The basis of the project will be digitized whole slide images from established, large, well-described cohorts of lung cancer patients and existing software developed as part of the project.

The research team is cross-disciplinary and is a collaboration between NTNU, St. Olavs hospital, Levanger Hospital and SINTEF 

The position offers challenging and varied tasks in an environment characterised by active, committed and skilled researchers with both technological and clinical expertise.

The successful candidate will be reporting to the project manager, MD and Associate Professor Hanne Sorger. 

Duties of the position

• Develop and validate machine learning techniques to improve tissue segmentation, prediction of biological properties and prognostic differentiation in lung cancer based on digitised whole slide images. This will include data management, methods development, image analysis, programming, validation and testing in close collaboration with other team members
• Work in a cross-disciplinary team including clinical and technological faculty and researchers, lab technicians and medical/engineering students
• Write scientific journal articles and present the results at scientific conferences and in popular media
• Fulfil the requirements for the degree of PhD at NTNU within the specified time period

Required selection criteria

• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level 
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education. 
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program 
• Basic knowledge in image analysis, machine learning/deep learning and programming in python.
• Good written and oral English language skills.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with C++ and MATLAB

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work in a cross-disciplinary team
• A strong interest in medical research

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Medical Technology within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include the following:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 15 works)
• A copy of your master's thesis, if applicable. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis.
• Name and address of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

In accordance with The Public Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have questions about the position, please contact Associate professor at NTNU Hanne Sorger, telephone +4791816787, email hanne.sorger@ntnu.no and/or Chief Scientist at SINTEF Medical technology Thomas Langø, telephone +4790962913, e-mail thomas.lango@sintef.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Julie Hoff, e-mail: julie.hoff@ntnu.no

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. 

Application deadline: 15.02.2022

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MH) is one of NTNU’s largest faculties with about 1800 employees (1300 full-time equivalents).

The Faculty’s main activities are education and research in close integration with St Olav’s Hospital. For further information, see: https://www.ntnu.edu/mh.

Deadline 15th February 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Øya, Trondheim