PhD Candidate in Microbiology

The Department of Biotechnology and Food Science has a vacancy for a

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You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

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About the position

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 leader will be the Head of Department.

This PhD project is one of four closely coordinated PhD projects about to be recruited to the NTNU funded research project “Preparedness and Response to AMR, the silent pandemic”lead by Professor Marit Otterlei, Department of Clinical and Molecular medicine (IKOM) https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/309380

This particular PhD project (numbered 2 of the 4 - see the link) will focus on emerging technologies for characterization of mode of operation and activity of synthetic and natural peptides already developed characterized with potent antibacterial activity against important pathogenic bacteria by the Otterlei lab. Central technology will be mass spectrometric based analysis at metabolite and protein levels as well as metabolic flux characterizations as well as traditional microbial cultivation and bioanalytical assays. There will be close collaboration with the Otterlei lab and PhD project 1.

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

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must meet the requirements for admission to the Departments's Doctoral Programme (https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phbiot), see Section 6-1 of the PhD regulations for more information.
• You must have a relevant Master's degree in Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology or equivalent. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a master’s thesis
• Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 1st. December, 2026.
• You must have a strong and relevant 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 academic background, you may be considered if you can document that you are exceptionally suited for a PhD education, for example through relevant work experience and/or peer-reviewed academic works.
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English
• Strong background in biochemistry, microbiology, biotechnology
• Some background in analytical biochemistry
• Experience in LC-MS
• Skills to work with large data sets

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

• Work independently and in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals
• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
• Present and discuss your research with collaborators on the project as well as other professionals
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities. This PhD project requires strong collaborative, communication, and interpersonal skills. as there will be close collaboration with PhD project 1 and development of joint publications.

We offer

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• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

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.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed i