PhD Position in Biostatistics

About the job

We have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in cancer biostatistics. For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. The PhD position has a duration of three years (100%).

The PhD candidate will work in a project where we aim to develop novel strategies for cancer prevention by large scale gut microbiome characterization. Gut microbiome data will be linked to longitudinal lifestyle and health information. For this purpose, we are utilizing data from a large Norwegian population-based cohort the HUNT Study. The HUNT Study has four repeated health surveys since the 1980s, and contains detailed questionnaire data and biological materials, including gut microbiome data from 13 000 participants and serum metabolic data from 20 000 participants.

The PhD candidate will be part of a multidisciplinary research environment at the K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology established in 2016. This is a large research group consisting of scientists with a diverse scientific background. The group works with world leading international collaborators to better understand human health and disease by studying variation in populations.

The main supervisor for this PhD project will be Guro Giskeødegård.

Duties of the position

The position offers challenging and varied tasks in an environment characterized by active, committed and skilled employees. The PhD candidate will actively take part in the research group, and be involved in statistical analysis and implementation of machine learning procedures suitable for microbiome and other -omics data, and for writing scientific manuscripts. Information about the PhD programme in Medicine and Health Sciences is available here.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a master’s degree in biostatistics, analytical chemistry, epidemiology or equivalent
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, 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.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by 01.08.2023
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program 
• Knowledge within statistics and/or machine learning
• Excellent English skills both written and oral

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate 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

• Prior experience within microbiome analysis
• Programming skills within R, Python, Matlab, or equivalent
• Knowledge within cancer biology

Personal characteristics

• The candidate has the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, has good communication skills and ability to collaborate across academic disciplines.
• Shows high motivation for the research field.
• 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 Medicine and Health Sciences  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 internal 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.

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:

• CV and 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.
• Name and contact information of two referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

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.

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

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

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 associate professor Guro F. Giskeødegård, telephone +47 905 50 347, email guro.giskeodegard@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-consultant Rebecca Hembre Storli, e-mail: rebecca.h.storli@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:  28.05.2023 

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 Public Health and Nursing (ISM) is responsible for research, teaching, innovation and dissemination in community medicine, nursing, primary health care and public health. The Department’s activities in both research and education focus on the needs of the primary health service.

ISM is one of eight departments at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and has about 360 employees in permanent and temporary positions. For more information on ISM, see:  www.ntnu.edu/ism.   

Deadline 28th May 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Trondheim