The University of South-Eastern Norway, USN, is one of Norway’s largest higher education institutions, with around 18,000 students and 1,900 employees across eight different campuses.
We offer studies, research and knowledge dissemination, all targeting various professions and working life and with a high level of quality internationally. Our goal as a University is to create value both for the individual student and for business and commerce, the public sector and society in general. We achieve this by utilising the best tools we have: education and research.
USN is a University with a strong social commitment where studies and working life are integrated. At USN, we focus on practice-relevant, profession-oriented and applied research and education.
The students shall benefit from innovative educational methods and challenging studies closely associated with society's requirements and needs. They will learn how to adapt to a society and working life that is constantly changing. The University shall meet major social challenges with knowledge and expertise, helping to promote practical solutions, structural changes and new ways of thinking. USN’s academic activities shall be embodied by a clear dedication to the UN’s sustainable development goals. The University aims to realise this main profile in close cooperation with society and working life.
For more information on USN, please go to www.usn.no
The Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences has a vacancy for a position as Postdoctoral Fellow in Technology
About the position
The Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences has a vacancy for a position as Postdoctoral Fellow in Technology from 01.08.24.
The position is associated with the Department of Microsystems and reports to the Head of Department. The place of employment is in the Vestfold campus. The appointment is for a term of 2 years.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a Norwegian doctoral degree (PhD) or equivalent education from abroad in Technology, micro- and nanotechnology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, or BioNanotechnology2. The applicant must have gained the PhD degree within the application deadline. The staff at the faculty work within research teams, and the candidate must be motivated to share their knowledge and collaborate. The candidate must adapt to the Cocreated Health Technology (CoTecH) project and work in interdisciplinary collaboration. Personal suitability for the position will be emphasized.
Information about the position
The postdoctoral fellow is employed at the Department of Microsystems at USN and will work in close collaboration with the USN Innovation Center, the research group BioMEMS and the CoTecH project. The CoTecH project is a capacity boost for a research and innovation partnership that embraces the healthcare industry, healthcare services, users and research actors in the region of Buskerud, Vestfold and Telemark, led by the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) and funded by the Norwegian Research Council. CoTecH has national significance for needs mapping, development, testing and implementation of digital health services and health technology. The activities in CoTecH stimulate to raise competence and increase the application of research-based knowledge to strengthen value creation and innovation capacity in the health industry and the health sector located in or attracted to our region. In addition, USN's capacity is to be strengthened to further develop and deliver interdisciplinary, research-based knowledge and education in line with the health industry’s needs, both by strengthening research capacity and the relational proximity between research communities, the health industry, and other actors in the health innovation ecosystem. The main focus at the Department of Microsystems in the CoTecH project is “Technology development, technology competence and testing: Stimulate innovation of technological components, products, systems, and services, as well as establish arenas and methods for testing and piloting health and welfare technology.”
A major task for combating serious illness is to develop and implement care, digital systems, digital technology, infrastructures and point of care diagnostics to discover diseases and progression of diseases before they become severe. The main focus of the postdoctoral work will be to do research with the aim of identifying the most important analytes related to the diseases contributing the greatest burden of care, and how they can be measured.
Commercially available sensors and sensors from USNs partners, together with a number of prototype sensors can have its use in healthcare facilities, medical practice or even in private homes. The development of how these analytes can be measured could have impact on facilitating task shifting in the healthcare system, resulting in a positive impact on the delivery of care. One possible illness that could be used as a model for development, implementation and testing is Invasive Cervical Cancer. Commercial products are emerging, which works by adding the analyte sample on a chip, inserting it in the instrument and receiving the measurement results within hours. The purpose is to be able to identify and start treatment of preclinical severe illness within the same day.
Responsibilities and duties
Identifying the most important analytes and how they can be measured, which could have the greatest effect in the healthcare system by facilitating task shifting.
Establish an overview of the state of the art related to sensors and technology platforms for the collection of clinical samples within the primary healthcare services – publish a scientific peer review paper.
Conduct a performance evaluation study of sensors and preventive technologies – publish a scientific peer review paper.
Prepare methods/assays and sensors for detection of proteins, possibly using Immuno LAMP, and for the detection of specific mRNAs and analytes.
Prepare systems for the integration of sensor technology from various companies.
Prepare the ground for same-day test and treatment within the primary healthcare services. Prepare a report and a recommendation for further implementation of the technologies.
Initiate new research proposals related to the topic of research in collaboration with regional public and private entities.
We offer
Exciting and educational academic environment with stimulating work.
Individual competence plan and good opportunities for competence and career development for all employees.
Inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues.
Employee benefits, including opportunity to exercise during working hours.
Salary
The position as postdoctoral fellow (postdoktor) (code 1352) is placed in the state salary scale at levels 62-74, depending on seniority. In special cases, higher salary may be considered. A statutory contribution will be made from the employee’s salary to the state pension plan.
Additional information
The Academic Appointments Board is responsible for appointments to academic positions at University College of Southeast Norway. An expert assessment of applicants will be carried out. Short-listed candidates will be called in for interviews and must be prepared to present and discuss their projects.
The successful applicant must comply with the laws, regulations and agreements that apply to the position.
It is an aim of personnel policy that the academic staff of University College of Southeast Norway should reflect the composition of the general population. It is therefore a personnel policy objective to achieve a balanced age and gender composition on the faculty and to recruit people from ethnic minority backgrounds. People from ethnic minority backgrounds are encouraged to apply for the position.
According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information act § 25 2 paragraph, information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, even though the applicant has requested non-disclosure. The applicant will be informed if his/her request has been declined.
Contact information
For more information about the position, please contact:
Professor Frank Karlsen, Department of Microsystems, Frank.Karlsen@usn.no
Associate Professor Lars-Cyril Blystad, USN Innovation Center, Lars-Cyril.Blystad@usn.no
For questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact:
Seniorkonsulent Amna Zafar, amna.zafar@usn.no
How to apply
University College of Southeast Norway uses online applications. We therefore ask applicants to register their application and CV online by clicking on the “Send application” link to the right.
The application must include the following documents:
Certified diplomas and certificates from university college/university
Master’s thesis
A 5-page (maximum) project description
Any scientific publications and a list of these
Three references (contact information)
Please note that all documents must be translated into English or a Scandinavian language by an authorized translator.
