PhD Candidate in Bioinformatics and Multi-Omics Analyses for Cancer Signaling

About the job

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

We have a vacancy for one PhD candidate in bioinformatics at the Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine within the field of computational precision medicine, and with a focus on multi-omics data integration for cancer signalling modelling. The PhD candidate will be supervised by associate professor Åsmund Flobak at the DrugLogics group, and associate professor Morten Rye at the Group of Bioinformatics. You will be part of, and bridge, two established research groups tackling various aspects of cancer diagnostics and therapy. The two groups have affiliated researchers at all stages of their careers, meaning other phd candidates, postdocs, researchers and PIs. In addition, both groups have large academic networks throughout Europe, and are in close collaboration with leading bioinformatics groups at major cancer centres.

The focus in the proposed project will be to integrate multi-omics data from spheroids derived from cancer patients at our hospital with public data on cancer tissue and models. Spheroids will span several cancer disease entities, including colon cancer and prostate cancer. The goal is to identify single and combinatorial drug targets for cancer precision medicine, and increase our understanding of druggable pathways and adaptive resistance mechanisms through computational modelling of these pathways. The research work in the project will be related to our well established activity in several ongoing projects, including the PRESORT, DrugLogics, IMPRESS, PROSTOMICS, LINKS initiatives. Knowledge within programming and bioinformatics is required for this position.

Your immediate leader is associate professor Åsmund Flobak

Specifically, you will be asked to:

• analyse multi omics data, with a focus on scRNAseq data, for from cancer samples
• perform pathway module analysis based on gene signatures, to identify cancer signalling modules that are relevant for individual patients
• apply standardised and new developed methods to in house and public data, where in house data will include patient tumour derived lab cultivated cells

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in bioinformatics.
• 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 July 15th. 
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program.
• You should be proficient in computer programming languages including python, R, and Java and Linux.
•  You must have excellent writing and oral English language skills.

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

•    Previous work with bioinformatics
•    Previous work with precision medicine

Personal characteristics

•    Motivation for the position
•    Professional independence and assertiveness
•    Communication skills
•    Collaborative 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 532 200 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 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.

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 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.
• 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

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

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.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. (tas bort hvis ikke aktuelt)

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 Åsmund Flobak, telephone +47 72 57 37 17, email asmund.flobak@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Elisabeth Myrvang, e-mail: elisabeth.myrvang@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: 15.06.2023

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 Clinical and Molecular Medicine (IKOM):

The Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine (IKOM) is NTNU’s largest department, with 450 employees. Our research and teaching help to improve treatment and health.

IKOM has expertise in basic, clinical and translational research within broad disciplinary areas. We study children’s and women’s health, cancers, blood disorders and infectious diseases, gastroenterology, inflammation, metabolic disorders, laboratory sciences and medical ethics. The Department offers teaching in medicine at master’s and PhD level. We also offer continuing education for employees in the health services.

Deadline 15th June 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service