Research Scientist in Diagnostics of Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance

About the position

The Department of Biotechnology at the Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences, and Biotechnology (ALB) at Inland Norway University (INN) invites applications for a Research scientist position from exceptional candidates. The position is set to begin in early 2025 and will run for two years, with the possibility of an extension. The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Biotechnology, with their workplace located in Hamar.

The appointed candidate will be working within a proliferating scientific environment consisting of academic staff members, Ph.D./Postdoctoral fellows, and students with scientific expertise ranging from theoretical methods (machine learning, biostatistics, and bioinformatics) to experimental methods (genomics, molecular biology, clinical microbiology, microscopy, and spectroscopy).

The researcher will be working in the group of Professor Rafi Ahmad. The Ahmad group (https://www.inn.no/english/find-an-employee/rafi-ahmad.html) is also part of the Norwegian Network for One Health Resistome Surveillance (NORSE), a national network of 13 Norwegian institutions, and the National Centre of Expertise — Heidner Biocluster. 

About the project 

The WHO considers bacterial infection due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a critical global threat to modern healthcare and societal well-being. It’s been 35+ years since a new class of antibiotics was introduced to the market. This, together with the increased and inappropriate use of existing drugs, means that we are heading towards a world where antibiotics are no longer effective. Remarkably, most prescriptions and administration of antibiotics are still carried out in the absence of any information about the causative pathogens and their resistance profiles. 

The selected candidate will work within the project “OH-AMR-Diag: Novel technological solutions for rapid detection and screening of AMR from a One-Health perspective, ” funded by the Research Council of Norway’s program Collaborative and Knowledge-building for Society and Industry. Please find the project details here: https://www.inn.no/english/research/research-projects/OH-AMR-Diag/ 

The main objective of OH-AMR-Diag is to develop a proof of concept (PoC) decision-making diagnostic system for rapid, accurate, sensitive, and on-site detection of bacterial infection, pathogen ID, characterization of its resistance profile, and antibiotic susceptibility prediction from a One Health perspective. The project's long-term objective is to translate the OH-AMR-Diag system from the lab to tertiary care hospitals and farms for detection, screening, and therapeutic intervention.

The main tasks of the researcher are to (a) optimize the in-house developed novel method for culture-independent sample preparation for body fluids, including urine, blood, and milk; (b) perform metagenomic,  Raman spectroscopy analysis on clinical samples, and quantitative phase microscopy or other advanced microscopy methods, and (c) correlation of the generated data; (d) pilot study to evaluate the performance of the development method in clinical and on-site settings. 

As part of the project, the candidate may spend brief periods of up to 3 months visiting our partner labs in Norway and internationally. The research groups' interdisciplinary and complementary experience will help the Ph.D. candidates develop and implement competence.

Please refer to our latest publications, which highlight our work.

• https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55635-z 
• https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1154620 
• https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00612
• https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64616-x 
• https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-024-04929-1 

Qualifications

Required qualifications: 

• The candidate must have a Ph.D. in molecular biology, microbiology, genomics, biotechnology, or another relevant scientific discipline. The doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and completed defence are eligible for appointment. 
• Prior experience with methods development for rapid diagnosis of infection and antimicrobial resistance. 
• Proficient in metagenomic sequencing technologies from Oxford Nanopore, with hands-on expertise using both MinION and Flongle flow cells.
• Proven expertise in the entire sequencing workflow, from sample preparation to bioinformatic analysis, as evidenced by published research articles.
• Extensive hands-on experience handling human clinical samples, including blood and urine.
• Skilled in analyzing large-scale biological datasets, including metagenomic nanopore sequencing and Raman spectroscopy.
• The candidate must also demonstrate profiency in spoken and written English

Desired qualifications: 

• Fluency in scripting in Python and R. 
• Experience with Linux
• Additional consideration will be given to those with strong teamwork and communication skills and documented scientific publications or other writing experience.

For more information on the formal qualification requirements, see regulations to the Universities and Colleges Act. The assessment of which candidate is best qualified for the position is made after a comprehensive evaluation of education, experience and personal compatibility and other qualification requirements as formulated in the vacancy text, as well as motivation for the position.
 

The position and associated tasks must be carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations for government employees, including also the Act on Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology, etc. Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, come into conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to take up the position at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. Necessary approvals must be maintained throughout the employment relationship.

We offer

• Collaborating within a multidisciplinary team comprising microbiologists, ML/AI specialists, bioinformaticians, medical professionals, and physicists.
• Access to cutting-edge computational infrastructure.
• Involvement in a stimulating and impactful project that contributes positively to society, offering opportunities for both personal and scientific growth.
• An intellectually stimulating work environment with dynamic colleagues focused on a critical and rapidly growing research field.
• A flexible and independent work setting where candidates have significant autonomy. Daily interaction with talented and motivated colleagues.
• Position is paid and placed in position code 1109 Research Scientist in the Government Salary Scale
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension, with among other things, good pension and insurance schemes.

For more information about INN University as an employer, please see here.

How to apply

Register your application and CV electronically via “Apply for this job” on the job portal Jobbnorge. 

Your application must include:

• Application cover letter summarizing the candidate’s motivation and how they meet the position requirements
• CV (summary of education and work experience)
• Certified copies of academic certificates/transcripts
• List at least two references with complete contact information.
• A complete list of scientific and other publications
• Documents/works to be considered by an expert committee

Relevant applications will be considered by an expert committee. Comprehensive CVs, certified copies of diplomas and certificates, publication lists and documents/works to be considered must be submitted as electronic attachments or links to the application.

If you have any questions regarding uploading of attachments or other technical matters regarding the application, Jobbnorge customer service can be contacted. 

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

For more information about the position, please contact Professor Rafi Ahmad, rafi.ahmad@inn.no. 

General information

HINN believes that there is strength in inclusion and diversity. We desire employees with different competencies, professional combinations, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to an even better way of solving problems. We will facilitate for employees who need assitance to realise their goals. Relevant adaptations can be, for example, technical aids, adapting furniture or adjusting routines, work tasks and working hours.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, gaps in the CV or immigrant background, we shall call at least one applicant in each of these categories for an interview. In order to be considered as an applicant in these groups, the applicants must meet certain requirements. You can read more on this here: https://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/positivsaerbehandling.

We encourage applicants to tick in Jobbnorge if they have a disability, a gap in their CV or immigrant background. The ticks in the jobseeker portal form the basis for anonymised statistics that all state-owned enterprises report in their annual reports

DIVERSE INFO

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