PhD scholarship within fish reproduction and detrimental effects of endocrine disruptors

About the position

Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (VET) at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant 3 year PhD-position related to Reproductive Toxicology in fish.

Endocrine Disrupting chemicals (ED) are ubiquitously present in the environment due to chemical discharges from industrial -or agricultural activities, plastics, consumer products, electronical devices etc. The ED chemicals enter the food chains exposing and affecting wild and farmed animals as well as humans. The pleiotropic harmful effects of ED chemicals act through hormone-dependent signaling pathways in the brain-pituitary axis responsible among other things for gonad development and functions.

In this project we will use our novel brain-pituitary model to study how ED chemicals affect the neuroendocrine system regulating reproduction, bridging in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo experiments to fill knowledge gaps in understanding mechanisms underlying infertility or subfertility that may be detrimental for fish populations, both wild and farmed. Zebrafish, medaka and salmon may be used as models.

The PhD fellow will be working in a multidisciplinary research group which involves three Horizon Europe projects.

The applicant is made aware that an application for a PhD position at NMBU is at the same time an application for admission to a PhD-programme at the institution. The documentation that is necessary to ensure that the admission requirements are met must be uploaded as an attachment.

Main tasks

• Establish protocols for chemical exposures in ex vivo and in vitro brain-pituitary complexes, sperm and/or oocytes before and after fertilization.
• Use advanced methods for evaluation (microdissection, transcriptomics, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), flow cytometry, in toto fluorescent in situ hybridization, confocal microscopy, 3D imaging, in vitro fertilization).
• Use of bioinformatics tools to increase mechanistic insights.

Research visits abroad might be possible.

The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a PhD degree during the first months of the appointment, with a view to completing a doctorate within the PhD scholarship period.

Competence

The successful applicant must meet the conditions defined for admission to the Veterinary Science PhD-programme at NMBU. For more detailed information on the admission criteria please see the PhD Regulations and the relevant PhD programme description.

The applicant must document expertise and interest in the research subject.

Required Academic qualifications

• Cand Med Vet, MSc degree or equivalent within marine biology, fish reproduction or aquatic toxicology. Candidates who complete their education during the spring of 2024 can also apply, but can not be admitted to the PhD-program before the required academic education is approved.
• Documented strong academic background from previous studies.
• Documented proficiency in English, both written and oral.

The following experiences and skills are appreciated:

• Certified to work with animal experiments according to EU Regulations.
• Experience with fish experiments and microdissection.
• Experience with relevant laboratory methodologies.
• Toxicological competence.

Personal qualities required:

• High level of commitment and interest in groundbreaking scientific work in a leading EU research environment.
• Team spirit
• Flexible and positive
• Problem-solving attitude

Remuneration and further information

The position is placed in government pay scale 54-60, position code 1017 PhD- fellow. PhD-fellows are normally placed in pay grade 54 (NOK 532.200) on the Norwegian Government salary scale upon employment and follow ordinary meriting regulations.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, the Act relating to national security and the Act relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services, Technology, etc. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter laws will be prohibited from recruitment to NMBU.

For further information, please contact Ass Prof Mette H. Müller,

E-mail: mette.h.muller@nmbu.no; phone +47 94815141.

Employment is conducted according to national guidelines for University and Technical College PhD scholars.

Information for PhD applicants and general Information to applicants

Application

To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply for this job' button above. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.

Application deadline: 02.05.2024

Your CV must be entered in JobbNorge's CV form and not just included as an attachment. This is to be able to comply with the regulations of §15 of the Public Administration Act.

In the application, the candidate must confirm that information and documentation (in the form of attachments) submitted via the job application can also be used by NMBU in a possible admission process.

Applicants invited for an interview are expected to present original diplomas and certificates.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

• Motivation letter (maximum 1 page)
• Complete CV
• Certified copies of academic diplomas and certificates. (i.e. Di-ploma, transcript. Diploma supplement for both bachelor and master). Diplomas, transcripts and diploma supplements that are not in Norwegian or English must be uploaded in the original language. An English translation of these documents must also be attached.
• Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement, or a similar document, which describes in detail the study program and grading system.
• Documentation of proficiency in written and oral English in accordance with NMBU PhD regulation section 5-2 (3).
• Names and contact details for two references
• Additional relevant documentation of professional knowledge (for example, list of scientific works). If it is difficult to judge the applicant’s contribution for publications with multiple authors, a short description of the applicant’s contribution must be included.
• Applications that lack documents as mentioned above may be excluded from the further process.

About the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at NMBU is the country's only veterinary professional education and provide expertise in veterinary medicine and veterinary public health. The Faculty educates veterinarians, animal nurses and doctoral students in Veterinary Science and researches in veterinary medicine and related biomedical fields. We have 500 students and 430 employees.

The faculty consists of the departments of Preclinical Sciences and Pathology, Paraclinical Sciences, Production Animal Clinical Sciences and Companion Animal Clinical Sciences. We also run the Animal Hospital, which is closely linked to our research and education, and receives patients from all over the country.