Research Fellow PhD position University of Bergen Norway 2008

Research Fellow (PhD position) in Chordate Developmental Cell Cycle Regulation at the Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology Research

In collaboration with the University of Bergen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, the Sars International Centre now offers a 3-year position as Research Fellow in the field of Marine Molecular Biology within the Chromatin and Gene Expression project, the place of work being at Unifob AS, the Sars Centre. The position is financed by Sars Centre core budget.

The chordate Oikopleura is uniquely suited to study the molecular mechanisms that drive the endoreduplicative cell cycle variant where cells undergo DNA replication and re-enter G-phase without dividing. During its short 6-day life cycle, Oikopleura switches from mitotic cycling to near-systemic endocycling for patterning and growth. In the ovary, thousands of endocycling and meiotic nuclei coexist in the shared cytoplasm of a single giant cell. The nearly systemic switch from mitotic to endo- cycling and the unique coexistence of meiotic and endocycling nuclei in the ovary enable study of factors involved in regulating the transition to, and maintenance of, diverse cell cycle modes. Expression profiling of >120 genes has revealed intriguing regulators, and our research focuses on original paralogs of several candidates. Extensive resources around this emerging model organism have been established including; a running year-round culture, a sequenced genome, >150K ESTs, BAC and developmental cDNA libraries, whole genome tiling arrays, proteomic, transgenic and knockdown approaches.

The Sars International Centre ( www.sars.no ) is a partner of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL, www.embl.org ), and a department of Unifob (www.unifob.no), affiliated with the University of Bergen (www.uib.no). The Centre is focused on basic research in marine molecular biology, developmental biology and evolution, through genetic and comparative studies of invertebrates and vertebrates.

Applicants should have an interest in the contribution of cell cycle regulation to developmental patterning and a sound background in molecular and cell biology. The position is available immediately, start date negotiable. A description of the position can be downloaded from the Sars website open positions call at http://www.sars.uib.no/jobs

For further information about the position please contact Dr. Eric Thompson, Group Leader: eric.thompson@sars.uib.no, +47 55584346.

Applicants must have achieved a master’s degree or equivalent or have submitted their master thesis for assessment by the application deadline. It is a prerequisite, however, that the examination results are out within 4 weeks of the closing date for submitting the master thesis.

The research fellow must take part in the University’s approved PhD programme leading to the degree within a time limit of 3 years. Hence, applicants must meet the formal admission requirements for the PhD programme. Application for admission to the PhD programme, incl. a project plan outline for the training module, will be worked out in collaboration with the research group in question.

The fellowship period may be reduced if the successful applicant has held previous employment as research fellow.

Starting salaries at salary level 43 (code 1017) on the government salary scale; currently NOK 325,800 gross p.a.; following ordinary meriting regulations (range 43/47).

Women in particular are invited to apply. If, in the opinion of the evaluation committee, several applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules on equal opportunities laid down in the Personnel Regulations for Academic Positions will be applied.

State employment shall reflect the multiplicity of the population at large to the highest possible degree. The University of Bergen has therefore adopted a personnel policy objective to ensure that we achieve a balanced age and sex composition and the recruitment of persons of various ethnic backgrounds. Persons of different ethnic backgrounds are therefore encouraged to apply for the position.

The University of Bergen applies the principles of public openness when recruiting staff to scientific positions.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

Applications should comprise a complete overview of education and professional experience (CV), copies of diplomas/transcripts (bachelor and master) and testimonials, as well as scientific works including a list of these (all in 3 copies/sorted in 3 identical bundles), and should be sent to the Sars International Centre, Head of Administration, Thormøhlensgate 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway.

Please note that applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 16 March 2008

Quote reference number: 08/2339

Scholarship Tags: Bergen, Fellow, Norway, of, PhD, Position, research, University