PhD Fellowship in Environmental Epidemiology

The position

A PhD position is available at the Department of Community Medicine, The Faculty of Health Sciences with the research group Systems epidemiology in the field of environmental epidemiology.

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

About the System Epidemiology research group

The System epidemiology research group focuses on population-based research and cancer risk and survivorship and the associations different exposures and lifestyle factors. Data is collected from questionnaires, clinical measures, and population and national health registries. The group is interdisciplinary with researchers from the field of medicine, biology, statistics, and more.

Responsibilities

The PhD candidate will conduct research in environmental epidemiology and biostatistics and will write and publish three scientific articles in peer reviewed journals during the PhD. The overall aim of the project is to exploit unique data that have been generated to increase our knowledge of human exposure to environmental contaminants and their associations to blood-based biomarkers. The project will include collaboration with the Department of Medical Biology, UiT and the Norwegian climate and environmental research institute, NILU. The data sources for the project will be existing data for environmental contaminants within the Tromsø Study and the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study. In our research, we have focused on repeated measurements of POPs (especially organochlorine and perfluorinated compounds) and have focused on spatial and temporal variation in exposures as well as effects of contaminants in relation to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus using nested case-control designs. Depending on the qualifications of the candidate, the PhD project can be specified within the following main topics: contaminant half-lives, influence of body lipid mass and lipid dynamics on time trends, influence of dietary habits on time trends, multipollutant clustering of compounds over time, or relation of contaminants to other blood biomarkers or T2DM.

The objective is to obtain a doctorate through courses, independent research, and publication in peer-reviewed journals. The candidate is also expected to teach 25% of his/her time in epidemiology and/or statistics at the Department of Community Medicine where the preferred language of teaching is Norwegian.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Associate professor Therese Haugdahl Nøst:

• email: therese.h.nost@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires a master’s degree or equivalent in chemistry, biology, toxicology, biomedicine, medicine, nutrition or statistics or other relevant fields. Candidates with documented skills and experience within epidemiology or biomedical statistics will be prioritized. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply.

Applicants must document fluency of in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. Fluency in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is an advantage.

We are looking for a motivated and structured candidate with the ability to work independently, but also contribute to the research group through collaborations. The project will make use of epidemiological and statistical methods and experience in statistical analysis and proficiency in using statistical software like STATA or R is an asset.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration.

We will also emphasize motivation 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

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme 

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health Sciences and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:  

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 

UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Applicants must have a grade of C or better on the master's thesis and have a grade point average of C or better for the master's degree. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.  

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from NOKUT. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. 

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position. 

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of 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 are 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 at 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

• Supervision from experienced researchers
• An interdisciplinary group of PhD candidates
• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities   
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 532 200 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase

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

Application 

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• CV
• Diploma for bachelor's and master's degree
• Transcript of grades/academic record for bachelor's and master's degree
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Documentation of proficiency in Norwegian (or a Scandinavian language)
• References with contact information
• Master’s thesis one-page project summary for students), and any other academic works

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline. 

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. 

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. 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.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years. 

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure. 

DIVERSE INFO

Kilde: NAV stillingsannonser
https://arbeidsplassen.nav.no/stillinger/stilling/70e99e05-03c7-4918-ad75-cec04aa7f51d
IMPORTAPI
https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/260709