项目介绍

2025年1月16日

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

Your immediate Line Manager will be the Head of Department.

A PhD position within the field of biophysics/bionanotechnology is available at the Department of Physics. The appointment has a duration of 3 years starting from October 2025. The aim of the project is to use ultrasound in combination with microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier for delivery of viral vectors to specific regions of the brain, enabling gene therapy of neurodegenerative disorders.

About the project

The PhD student will work on the project “Enabling targeted gene therapy of brain diseases by ultrasound and microbubbles” funded by the Central Norway Regional Health Authority.

Currently, the are no cures for neurodegenerative disorders, and no treatments exist which target the diseased cells. There is thus a huge need for novel therapeutic interventions which can treat such brain diseases. Genetic therapy with viral vectors is a promising approach, where foreign genetic material is introduced into the target cells to treat or prevent diseases arising from defective or abnormal genetic conditions. In the current project we will enable anatomically precise delivery of gene therapy to areas affected by neurodegenerative disorders. This will be achieved using a novel viral vector targeting only specific cell types. Treatment of neurodegenerative diseases is however highly limited by the blood brain barrier (BBB), preventing delivery of therapeutics to the brain. As many as 98% of drugs are not able to pass the BBB. Current methods to surpass the BBB are either invasive, non-localized, or both, they are often inefficient and carry substantial burden and side effects for the patients. The combination of ultrasound (US) with microbubbles (MBs) has emerged as a highly promising method to open the BBB in a non-invasive, localized and reversible manner. The overall aim of the project is to use image-guided US in combination with novel MBs to open the BBB, enabling controlled delivery of gene vectors to the target cells, resulting in more effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases with reduced side effects, and to take this technology from bench to bedside. 

For more information about the research activities see https://www.ntnu.edu/physics/biophysmedtech/drugdel#/view/about

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate.
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above.
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination.
• Participate in the research group https://www.ntnu.edu/physics/biophysmedtech/drugdel#/view/about
• Participate in international activities such as conferences.

Required selection criteria

• You should hold a Master of Science in biophysics, biotechnology, bionanotechnology, medical engineering or related sciences. 
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. 
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s Doctoral Programme.
• You should be willing to work with laboratory animals and thus be willing to obtain a FELASA license.
• You should have excellent communication skills in both oral and written English.
• You should be eligible to work in Norway.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this. 

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge in the field of ultrasound technology.
• Experience within medical imaging and image processing (ultrasound, magnetic resonance, or optical imaging). 
• Knowledge within microscopy of tissue.
• Experimental experience working with mice.

Personal characteristics

The successful applicant is a highly motivated, ambitious and well-organized student. We are looking for a positive candidate who can think creatively and critically, and will work independently and consistently on the research project. You should also enjoy interdisciplinary research and take keen interest in learning and working as part of an international team.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society.
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment.
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period.
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues.
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU.
• Training during working hours and company sports at NTNU. 
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)  

You will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts. 

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 532 200 per annum. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in biophysics  within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding from The Central Norway Regional Health Authority.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates. The application must include :

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
• CV and relevant certificates.
• Letter of motivation for the position.
• Documentation and description of relevant experimental experience.
• Potential publications or other relevant research work.
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor’s and Master’s education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well. 

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.
NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Researcher Sofie Snipstad , e-mail: sofie.snipstad@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Magnus Gautvik , e-mail: magnus.gautvik@ntnu.no.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

Application deadline: 05.02.2025

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.