About the job

We are looking for a motivated person who are interested in joining our team as a PhD student at The Cancer Imaging and Multi-Omics Research Group (CIMORe, former MR Cancer Group - https://www.ntnu.edu/isb/cimore#/view/about) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

CIMORe focus on the use of medical imaging and molecular analyses to describe functional and metabolic characteristics of cancer. Our overall aim is to contribute to improved and patient-tailored management of the disease. Our translational approach to cancer research benefits from the close integration between NTNU and St. Olavs University Hospital. The group is highly interdisciplinary with research scientists, Post Docs and PhD candidates with backgrounds from medical physics, molecular biology, medicine, bioinformatics, pharmacy, chemistry, and data science.

The project will be headed by professor Tone Frost Bathen. 

Duties of the position

The position will be a part of a multidisiplinary team employing precision imaging for improved patient management. For prostate cancer, standard imaging modalites (MRI, CT) have low sensitivity for detection of disease outside the prostate. The most promising alternative is positron emission tomography imaging (PET) with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based tracers. The successful candidate will analyze data from PSMA-PET/MRI/CT-studies of prostate cancer, provided from ongoing clinical trials organized by the 180°N Norwegian Nuclear Medicine Consortium. 180°N is a collaboration between the hospitals and universities in Trondheim, Tromsø and Bergen (https://180n.no/wp/clinical-wp1/). More specifically, the tasks will be related to assessing the benfits and limitations of the imaging modalities in high risk and recurrent prostate cancer to ensure future optimal imaging protocols for personalized diagnostics. Interest in and experience from data/image analysis and medical statistics will be a benefit. Moreover, we expect the radionuclide therapy agent Lu-PSMA to be approved in Norway soon. PSMA directed radionuclide treatment depends on PSMA-PET imaging to plan and assess the response to treatment (theranostics). Thus, the candidate will also investigate factors affecting the PSMA uptake using histology and immunohistochemistry as a gold standard.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background such as Master of Science in medical physics or biomedical engineering, alternatively an MB degree (medicine)
• Experience with clinical medical imaging, in particular PET, MRI and/or CT
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level, or a Norwegian MB
• 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.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by 31/7-2023
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program 
• Good written and oral English language skills
• Preferred start in this position is August 2023

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  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

• Documented hands-on experience in medical imaging and medical statistics
• Experience in image and data analysis (e.g. using Matlab, R, Python)
• Experience from interdisciplinary teamwork
• Interest in science communication to peers and public
• Motivation for the position

Personal characteristics

• Enthusiastic and highly motivated
• Good team player and collaborative skills but also the ability to work independently
• Good work ethics, management and organisational skills

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 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 (https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phmedt) 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 on a daily basis.

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 your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include the following:

• CV and list of publications (certificates)
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• A list of publications or other relevant research work (if applicable)

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.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short 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

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.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position please contact Professor Tone F. Bathen, e-mail; tone.f.bathen@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Senior HR Consultant Julie Hoff, e-mail; julie.hoff@ntnu.no. 

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 01.02.2023

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 Department of Circulation and Imaging (ISB) has 265 employees, and its research units are at the Cardiothoracic Centre at St. Olav’s Hospital, integrated with collaborating clinical divisions. The Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging (ISB) includes anaesthesiology, radiology, radiography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, exercise physiology, cardiovascular physiology, pulmonary physiology, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery and biomedical engineering.

The department is also responsible for the Centre for Innovative Ultrasound Solutions (CIUS), the Medical Simulation Centre and the MR Centre. More information about the department is available at http://www.ntnu.edu/isb

Deadline 1st February 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim\
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Øya campus