项目介绍

2025年1月23日

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The position is part of the research project “Prediction of genetic values and adaptive potential in the wild” funded through a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). A major goal of the project is to develop cutting-edge statistical methodology to analyze large-scale genomic data, which is currently generated for many wild animal populations. To this end, the project combines modern statistical methodology and builds on the current state-of-the art in animal breeding, human genomics, ecology and evolutionary biology. The student will thus work with a cross-disciplinary team of researchers and can contribute towards the development of methods that will make an impact to better understand evolution and the robustness of wild animal populations, with the ultimate goal to help preserving biodiversity.

The PhD candidate will work at NTNU in Trondheim, and the fellowship will be hosted by the Department of Mathematical Sciences (https://www.ntnu.edu/imf). The successful applicant will be offered a three-year position, with the possibility for extension up to 12 months if teaching duties are attained. The project is a close collaboration with evolutionary ecologists from the Department of Biology (https://www.ntnu.edu/biology) and the Gjærevoll Centre (https://www.ntnu.edu/gjaerevoll) at NTNU, as well as with international researchers in the field.

The project leader and your main supervisor is Associate Professor Stefanie Muff.

Duties of the position

• The PhD candidate will develop and implement new efficient and accurate statistical methods for genomic prediction using genomic data from wild animal populations.
• Core components of the PhD project involve, among others, Bayesian hierarchical modelling, shrinkage methods, dimension reduction approaches, generalized linear mixed modeling, machine learning (ML) approaches, and performing simulations using specialized statistical programming tools.
• Publish the novel methods in international, peer-reviewed journals.
• An important part of the project is collaboration with evolutionary biologists, mostly at NTNU, but also internationally. The PhD candidate is therefore expected to maintain and nourish these collaborations, as well as disseminate their statistical research to a broader scientific audience.
• The candidate is expected to show a high level of initiative, motivation and independence.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Statistics or equivalent.
• Keen interest in ecological statistics and cross-disciplinary scientific research.
• Solid background in statistical modelling.
• Experience with the use of large datasets.
• Strong skills in computer programming and computational statistics.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master’s level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented by summer 2025. Employment will then start when the MSc degree is completed.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s doctoral program (http://www.ntnu.edu/ie/research/phd).
• Good written and oral English skills.

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 and experience with statistical analysis of genomic data.
• Documented background in evolutionary ecology and quantitative genetics, for example from courses or the Master thesis.
• High level of motivation.

Personal characteristics

• Ambitions to deliver high-quality research.
• Willingness to learn new fields of research in a multidisciplinary research environment.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Drive to communicate and convey new research results to biologists.
• Excellent writing skills, capable of synthesizing and expressing complex ideas clearly.
• Self-motivated, resilient, resourceful, result-oriented, and independent.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• 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. 

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years with no teaching, but the Department may offer up to 12 months extension with teaching and other duties. 

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Mathematical Sciences (http://www.ntnu.edu/ie/research/phd) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

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 application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not completed the master’s degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently have submitted your master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project proposal
• Name and contact information of three referees
• PDFs of any publications or other relevant research work

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. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation 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.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself 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 reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Stefanie Muff: stefanie.muff@ntnu.no .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 04.03.25.