PhD Research Fellowship

PhD research fellowship in immunology and bioinformatics
A three-year full time PhD Research Fellowship in immunology and bioinformatics is available at the Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital – Rikshospitalet.

The Department of Pathology is one out of seven departments within the Division of Laboratory Medicine
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4ZtMsryzk).
It is the largest pathology department in Norway, with close to 300 employees. The Department has a very strong research section that is organized in seven research groups, which integrate university and hospital research activities. Current research topics address cancer, immunopathology, inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.

More about the position:
The position is available from early 2023 with a flexible start from March to June 2023. This is a collaborative project between the Jahnsen Lab at Rikshospitalet (https://jahnsenlab.org) and the BIOSTOP project (a prospective, open randomized, parallel-Group study to evaluate the outcome of discontinuing vs. continuing anti-TNF in ulcerative colitits (UC) patients in remission.
https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/research/projects/biostop-discontinuing-vs-continuing-anti-tnf-in-uc/index.html
The primary aim of this project is to identify biomarkers to determine which UC patients that have increased probability for relapse after discontinuation of anti-TNF treatment.

The BIOSTOP study started in 2017 and has followed 176 patients with ulcerative colitis that were in clinical and endoscopic remission at the time of inclusion. Clinical and endoscopic examination including mucosal biopsy sampling were performed at baseline, after 2 and 4 years, and additionally in the case of relapse or treatment failure. At 2 years the patients in the control group will also discontinue anti-TNF treatment. The results after the first 2 years follow-up will be available by February 2023, when the last patient has finalized the randomized phase.

The Jahnsen team has a very strong record in human mucosal immunology research and has over the last few years built very strong competence in bioinformatics for single cell multiomics analysis.  In this project we will collaborate with internationally and nationally leading research groups within biology and genetics, bioinformatics, and inflammatory bowel disease. We will apply an integrated approach combining high throughput bulk and single-cell technologies with advanced imaging techniques including spatial transcriptomics on clinical material from the BIOSTOP study, which has already been collected.

The successful candidate will work closely with bioinformaticians in the group and the project will use advanced single cell technologies and deconvolution methods as well as advanced multiplex immunofluorescence on tissue sections. 
Oslo University Hospital is a workplace with great diversity. We believe this is
absolutely crucial to solving the tasks required of us. We therefore want this
diversity to be reflected among the applicants for our positions and encourage
everyone to apply regardless of who you are and what background you have.

Kvalifikasjoner

• Master’s degree or equivalent in biology, genetics, or biochemistry or foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Licensed medical doctor (MD)
• The successful candidate will have experience in immunology/biology
• It is an advantage if candidate has experience in wet lab work
• The successful candidate will have strong interest in bioinformatics
• It is an advantage if candidate has experience with services such as Educloud
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

Personlige egenskaper

• The successful candidate will have good interpersonal and communications skills, a proactive attitude, and the ambition to conduct research of the highest quality
• Personal suitability for the position will be emphasized

Vi tilbyr

• An exciting research environment with opportunities for academic development

The successful candidate will be supervised by Diana Domanska (bioinformatician), professor Frode Jahnsen and professor Knut Lundin (BIOSTOP). The Jahnsen lab consists of 15 people all working on different aspect of mucosal immunology. The lab has extensive collaborations with international groups in bioinformatics, immunology and cancer biology. For details see www.jahnsenlab.org.