Senior engineer - PET Imaging Center

The PET imaging center at Tromsø is the unit for molecular imaging at the Diagnostic Clinic, University Hospital of Nord-Norway (UNN). The center counts with over 40 employees, the environment is highly multidisciplinary, and posseses one of the most complete molecular imaging equipment parks in Scandinavia. The PET imaging center is innovative at national level, joining under the same roof radiopharmaca production, clinical diagnosis and treatment, and a R&D section. The institution counts with a cyclotron for the generation of radionuclides, state-of-the-art equipment for the production of radiotracers, new equipment for small animal in vivo imaging and clinical positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission tomography (SPECT), computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scanners.The group has a good research environment and cooperates closely with the Arctic University of Norway (UiT), specially with the Faculty of Health Science (Helsefak). Read more about UNN at www.unn.no; and Helsefak at www.uit.no/helsefak.

A year engineer position (100%) with possibility of continuation is opened at the Preclinical facility section of the PET imaging center, most specifically, in the preclinical imaging facility (PETcore). PETcore is a collaborative project affiliated to the Tromsø PET imaging center (PET-center) and the Institute of Clinical Medicine (IKM) at Helsefak in UiT. Our main focus is on delivering nuclear imaging services to UiT/UNN researchers. We are a core facility, performing tracer developing studies, establishing imaging methods, as well as participating in study design, performance and data analysis in the projects ran at our platform.

The PETcore possesses a small animal three-modality scanner (PET/SPECT-CT); an image guided mouse irradiator, containing a bioluminescence imaging unit, and a preclinical 7T PET-MR scanner. All the imaging equipment mentioned is located behind animal barriers in the department of Comparative Medicine (AKM). AKM is a research department at the Health Science faculty approved by the authorities in order to establish and use animals in biomedical research. AKM and the PETcore serve users from the entire UiT, from UNN and from other research institutions in the region. The employee will work closely together with the personnel at AKM. The candidate may not have known allergy to animals, nor rodents at home as pets (due to the risk of infection to the animals in the department).

Duties and responsabilities

Our main goal is to offer quality service to the researchers performing experiments in the facility.

• Operation and management of preclinical imaging scanning equipment and irradiator.
• Handling of cells, organoid models and small animals for preclinical studies in nuclear medicine and radiation therapy.
• Establishment and optimization of procedures, quality assurance of the different equipment and operational functions, maintenance / service of the machines.
• Assistance in experimental planning and training of users.
• Data analysis.
• Management of radioactivity and other radiation sources.
• Participate in application writing for research funding.
• Contribute to teaching i.a. in research course for preclinical PET

There is the opportunity for participation at national and international courses and conferences. The working environment is interdisciplinary and team based.

Qualifications

• The applicant must have an education at the Master level in biophysics/medical technology, biology or a related discipline.
• Familiarity with small animal work and preclinical laboratory techniques.
• A number of years managing or working in an imaging core facility in a hospital or university is preferred.
• Supervision or teaching experience is favored.

FELASA acreditation
Course in radiation safety is an advantage.

We search after the following personal qualities

A good candidate for this position must be accurate, independent and systematic. Importantly, since the PETcore is a service platform where a lot of different researchers from different backgrounds try to find answers to their hypothesis, the candidate shall be service-minded oriented and sociable. The candidate may not have known allergy to animals, nor rodents at home as pets (due to the risk of infection to the animals in the department).

We offer

If you are curious and teamwork oriented this is your place of work. We will provide additional training in animal and other laboratory techniques. The multidisciplinary of the field and the different background of the staff makes the PET imaging center a place for constant learning and own development.