At The Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE), UiT The Arctic University of Norway has a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position vacant in microbiology, biotechnology or molecular biology. The position is attached to The Norwegian College of Fishery Science and the Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy and the Microalgae Research Group.

The position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is a fixed term position for a period of 3 years. The main objective of the appointment as a post-doctoral research fellow is to qualify for work in senior academic position. No one may be appointed to more than one fixed term period as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution. The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) is a part of the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics (BFE) and undertakes research and research-based teaching of high national and international quality in an interdisciplinary environment. Research activity is provisionally organized into groups focusing on living marine resources, sea food science, fish health, marine drug discovery, resource management, marine management and resource economics. The Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy or ARC is an interdisciplinary centre focusing on Arctic challenges and conditions within renewable energy and greenhouse gas management. The centre combines expertise in applied mathematics, marine biology, computer science, chemistry, engineering and other fields.

For further information, please contact: Associate Professor Hans C. Bernstein phone +47 7764 6114, hans.c.bernstein@uit.no.

The position’s field of research/field of work

The postdoctoral fellow will work with development and execution of multi-omics applied to diatoms and photosynthetically-driven marine microbiomes. The project will be an integrated part of the Microalgae group and will also help develop new projects in ARC aimed at understanding and engineering carbon capture and utilization in marine microbes.

The overarching goal of the project will be to uncover genome-encoded biological principles from Arctic marine microbes (and communities of microbes) to develop new biotechnologies that can be used to capture and utilize greenhouse gases. The exact emphasis of the project will in part be tailored to the strengths and ambitions of the successful candidate.

Qualifications required

• Norwegian doctoral degree or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in microbiology, chemical/biological/environmental engineering, molecular biology, biotechnology or another relevant area.
• a strong background in one or multiple of the following technical areas: microbial genomics, transcriptomics, algae, marine microbiomes, advanced microbial cultivation, bioinformatics, metagenomics or molecular microbial ecology.
• It would be an advantage if the candidate also has experience and aptitude for working on wet-bench experiments, computational analyses and field-based research.
• Proficiency with programming languages R, Python and/or Matlab is also advantageous.
• Candidates should have excellent communication and organizational skills; be highly motivated and passionate about developing new research; and have strong documentation of publications, oral and interpersonal skills.

When applying for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, the applicant shall submit a project proposal for the qualifying work. This proposal shall include a one-page plan that describes how the candidate will bring her/his unique skills to uncover genome-encoded biological principles from Arctic marine microbes (and communities of microbes) to develop new biotechnologies that can be used to capture and utilize greenhouse gases. It is required that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment. Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability and desire to contribute to the research culture at UiT.