Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Hepatic Vascular Biology

Lars Åke Andersen
13th April 2023
Languages
English

• English

English
Faculty of Health Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Hepatic Vascular Biology
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The position

A Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is available at the Department of Medical Biology , Faculty of Health Sciences  with the Vascular Biology Research Group (VBRG).

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of 3 years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The position will additionally be assigned to teaching and related work for UiT to a maximum 10% of full-time employment.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer. The fellow will also be required to spend a minimum of 6 months abroad in an international laboratory, which will be organised by the project leader in consultation with the fellow.

The project's field of research

The position is organized within the Vascular Biology Research Group (VBRG). The research main focus of VBRG is on blood filtration and waste clearance mediated by liver sinusoidal endotheial cells (LSEC). These functions play a central role in the prevention of acute and chronic complications, e.g. atherosclerosis, abnormal bleeding/coagulation, metastasis of cancer via the blood circulation, chronic inflammatory reactions, and virus infections. VBRG has a broad international network; we work to find applications for our basic research activity in medicine by ensuring close collaborations with researchers in clinical medicine and pharmaceutical companies in Norway and abroad.

Our research focuses on age/disease/drug-related morphological changes in the liver microcirculation, in particular within LSEC, as a cause for susceptibility to dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance (e.g. as seen in old age) and loss of liver mediated waste clearance functions essential for homeostasis. Finding ways to reverse these pathological changes in LSEC will fill a significant gap in therapeutic options available for the treatment of ageing and liver disorders. The post-doctoral fellow will be required to develop multicellular liver spheroid technology as a model to test nanoparticle-based therapies that target LSEC and reverse the age/disease/drug-related shrinkage/loss of LSEC fenestrations and liver fibrosis development, using technologies that can monitor these changes. LSEC fenestrations are patent nanopores that pass through LSEC and facilitate the bidirectional passage of solutes, and are smaller than the diffraction limit of light. Visualization of these structures requires super-resolution microscopy methods such as structured illumination microscopy (SIM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM) to facilitate non-phototoxic visualization of living LSEC in real-time below the diffraction limit of light. Electron microscopy (EM) methods are also used to study fixed spheroids. Assessment of fibrosis will require the use of AFM to determine the elasticity of spheroids. Experience with multicellular spheroids, AFM and/or SIM and/or EM will therefore be an advantage. The liver spheroids used in this project will comprise of freshly isolated cells from laboratory animals – the post-doctoral fellow will be required to isolate liver cells from mice and rats, and work with laboratory animals. Further project details can be directly discussed with the applicants.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Peter McCourt:

• phone:   +47 77646391
• email: [email protected]

Jon Terje Hellren Hansen
Qualifications

To be awarded the position of Postdoctoral Fellow, a Norwegian doctorate in biophysical or biomedical sciences or equivalent is required, or a corresponding international doctorate degree which is recognised as being equal to the Norwegian doctorate degree. Experience in super resolution optical microscopy methods or AFM or EM for the study of cultured cells using commercial systems is required. Experience with basic methods in molecular and cell biology are required. Experience with multicellular spheroids will be an advantage. Experience with research animals, and documentation of completed course(s) in research animal science (e.g. FELASA) will be an advantage, but an otherwise qualified candidate lacking this experience will be trained in the use of research animals, and will be expected to complete the local FELASA course at the earliest possible opportunity during the fellowship.

Qualification with a PhD is required before commencement in the position. If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. You must have dissertated before the start-up date of the position.

Fluency in English is required. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted articles.

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

• Have good collaboration skills
• Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
• Wants to contribute to a good working environment

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA ).

Inclusion and diversity  

UiT The Arctic University i 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 is 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 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. 

We offer

 

• 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  

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 for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility  

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter
• CV
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Contact information to 2-3 references
• Documentation of teaching experience and qualifications, if applicable
• A list of your academic production
• Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important
• Academic works, up to ten. The doctoral thesis is regarded as one work

In order to achieve a targeted use of the postdoctoral position, and to strengthen the employee’s career development, a development plan must be available no later than three months after the appointment contract is signed. The development plan must be approved by the immediate leader with personnel responsibility.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

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.

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. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants . 

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. 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 .

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. 

Charter & Code - Torger Grytå
Eallju - Developing the High North 

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

 

 

Apply for this job
Deadline

13th April 2023

Employer

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Municipality

Tromsø - Romsa

Scope

Fulltime (1 positions) Fulltime (%)

Duration

Fixed Term

Place of service

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