PhD position related to physical activity and prostate cancer

The Position

Department of Physical Performance at NIH offers a three-year PhD fellowship (stipendiat), available from September 2024. The fellowship is offered in Exercise Oncology in a specific project with the title:

Physical Activity and Fitness in Prostate Cancer

Exercise Oncology researchers at NIH are involved in several research projects with extensive collaborations across a wide range of disciplines from national and international research institutions. We focus on physical activity, fitness, exercise, and health outcomes in people living with and beyond cancer.

The current PhD project is a collaboration between researchers at NIH and the Prostate Cancer Centre at Oslo University Hospital (OUS). The aim of the project is to investigate associations between aspects of physical activity, fitness, and exercise behavior with physiological- and psychosocial health variables and cancer/treatment-induced side effects in men scheduled to receive androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, as well as during treatment.

The PhD candidate will play a significant role in all aspects of the project and will be involved in planning the project, recruiting participants, performing study-related assessments (using accelerometers, fitness tests, body composition measures, blood samples, questionnaires, and selected medical data), analyzing and disseminating results in close collaboration with researchers at NIH and OUS.

The predefined project will be under the supervision of May Grydeland (main supervisor) and Tormod S. Nilsen (NIH) and Kjell Magne Russnes (OUS) (co-supervisors).

The candidate is also expected to work in close collaboration with staff at the Department of Physical Performance, other departments at NIH, and collaborating parties at OUS.

The successful candidate will be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at NIH. Employment as a PhD fellow will be conditional on successful enrolment in the PhD program.

Job Description

Your main tasks as a PhD student at NIH are to:

• Complete an independent research project under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent educational activities corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Actively participate in research environments, including collaboration with fellow researchers.
• Dissemination of results from your PhD project, both at international conferences and in scientific journals.
• Write a PhD thesis based on your project.
• Optional: The candidate may gain teaching experience, depending on the department's teaching needs and the candidate's competencies.

Required Qualifications

• The candidate must be qualified for admission to the Ph.D. programme at NIH.
• The applicant must be eligible for admission to the doctoral program at NIH: Ph.d.-program - Norwegian School of Sprt Sciences (nih.no). This means that the applicant must have completed and passed a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS) in sports science or have other education at the same level with sports/exercise in the subject area.
• The applicant must have achieved a minimum average grade of B or better in the master's degree to qualify for admission to the doctoral program. It is the applicants’ responsibility to document and transform the grade to the Norwegian standards if needed.

Applicants will be evaluated and selected based on an overall assessment of the following qualification requirements and desired experience:

Selection criteria

• Competence/experience and motivation to conduct independent research using advanced exercise science methodology, preferably in oncological settings or in similar health research settings.
• Experience in analyzing data and disseminating results for academic purposes.
• Quality of the master's thesis and the relevance of the master's thesis to the planned project, both academically and methodologically.
• Good collaboration skills, communication skills, and ability to be solution oriented.
• Good written and oral presentation skills in English and Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language).
• Experience in human studies and experience in scientific writing, i.e., publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals, is considered an advantage.

The purpose of the educational position is for the candidate to obtain a doctorate during the scholarship period. Admission to the doctoral program is therefore a condition for employment as a research fellow. It is a prerequisite that the candidate can complete the project during the scholarship period.

It is a prerequisite that the candidate submits a project description and application for admission to the doctoral program no later than 6 weeks from employment. The final plan for the project and research training must be approved and agreed no later than three months after employment.

Working Conditions

• The starting salary is NOK 532 200, - per annum before tax. Position code is SKO 1017, "stipendiat".
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Attractive welfare benefits
• Working place will be at the Department of Physical Performance at NIH.

How to apply

The application must be submitted in English and must include the following:

• A cover letter stating your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project (max. one page)
• Full CV
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc including grade transcripts)
• Other information to consider: Publications, if any and relevant references and recommendations

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Please note that all documents must be in English or a Scandinavian language. International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their university’s grading system.

International applicants, or applicants who hold an international degree, are advised to apply the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills for recognition of education from abroad: https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education/education-from-outside-of-norway/recognition-of-foreign-higher-education-bachelor-master-and-phd

The further process

After the application deadline expires, an expert committee is appointed to assess the selected applicants.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, as well as the applicant's academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project.

Selected applicants are called for interviews, and a final decision is expected late August.

The applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation.

Formal regulations

Please see the rules and regulations for appointments to Ph.D. Research fellowships at NIH.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of 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.

NIH personnel and recruitment policy aims at taking into account the diversity of the Norwegian population to the greatest possible extent.

NIH explicitly aims to achieve age and gender balance and recruit competent applicants from minority backgrounds. Women and individuals from minority backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background are encouraged to apply.

Contact information

• Supervisor, Associate Professor May Grydeland, Mayg@nih.no
• Head of Department, Klavs Madsen, klavsm@nih.no
• Contact administration: Elisabeth Olsen (HR-department), elisabethol@nih.no