PhD Candidate in Modelling Marine Larval Dispersal and Spatial Population Genetics and Demography

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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

About the position

A fully-funded PhD position in modelling marine larval dispersal and spatial population genetics and demography is available at the Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) under the supervision of Associate Professor Scott Burgess.

NTNU’s Department of Biology hosts internationally leading research activity in ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, marine science and technology, and cell & molecular biology. 

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.

About the project

The PhD position is aligned with a research program that has the overall aim of providing new understanding of the processes that affect marine larval dispersal and gene flow, how we measure it with genetic data, and how we use that information to predict the genetic and demographic responses of spatially structured marine populations to environmental variation and change.

Specifically, the primary focus of the PhD will be to understand how complex coastlines, ocean circulation, and biology (e.g., reproductive systems and phenology, larval behavior and survival) interact to affect the spatial structure of the genetic and demographic properties of marine populations. There is flexibility, and an expectation, for candidates to develop their own line of research within this broad scope. For example, projects could focus on combining simulations using spatial-genetic-demographic individual based models (e.g., using the software SLiM), machine learning approaches, and genomic data to estimate larval dispersal distances from the spatial structure of genetic genealogies across the genome, and the genetic relatedness among individuals; or develop and use biophysical models (hydrodynamics + particle tracking) to understand the demographic and genetic dynamics of marine metapopulations and adaptation to environmental change.

The PhD position provides an exciting opportunity to gain broad experience and expertise working at the interface of population genetics and demography, oceanography, and computer science. It will provide broad training in research skills, and will suit a candidate who is curious and is motivated to undertake high-level research to gain skills in computational methods and software tools to understand large, complex biological data.

The position will be hosted within a dynamic international research group based at NTNU, with strong links to local and international collaborators. There will be opportunities for conference and workshop participation.

The project supervisor will be Associate Professor Scott C. Burgess (Department of Biology, NTNU).

Your immediate leader will be the head of department.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate.
• Learn and apply advanced statistical and computational methods to analyze genetic data generated from simulations, outputs from biophysical models, or empirical genomic data to answer questions in spatial population genetics and marine metapopulation dynamics.
• Contribute to generating and managing reproducible computer code and workflows.
• Produce a high-quality PhD thesis, comprising of manuscripts suitable for publication in international peer-reviewed journals.
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions.
• Produce presentations for research dissemination.
• Contribute to building a collaborative and interactive local and international research team.
• Undertake teaching and other professional activities, as agreed with the Department of Biology.

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s Doctoral Programme. In particular, your previous education must be equivalent to a five-year Norwegian degree programme. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a master’s thesis. This corresponds to an undergraduate Bachelor degree and typically a 2-year Master’s degree.
• 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 communication and presentation skills in English. 
• You must have a relevant background in ecology or evolution.
• You must have strong quantitative and computational skills.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with computer coding, such as R, Python, or MATLAB, and Linux command-line tools including Bash scripting and running analyses on high-performance computing systems. 
• Experience with, or ability to learn, the evolutionary simulation software SLiM (Selection on Linked Mutations), or similar.
• Experience applying machine learning techniques, or the ability to learn them. 
• Experience using biophysical dispersal models, or the ability to learn to use them.
• Experience working with geospatial data and spatial analysis, or the ability to learn.
• Experience analysing whole genome libraries, including quality control, sequence alignment, and calculating population genetic summaries.

Personal characteristics

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

• You must be able to undertake independent and self-motivated activity.
• You must be able to work collegially in teams as part of a collaborative research environment.
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them.
• Have good communication skills, and present and discuss your research with other professionals.
• Have curiosity and a strong motivation for the research.
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed.
• Key characteristics: reliable, communicative, self-motivated, organized, collaborative.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

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. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years for the doctoral work with a possibility for to up to 12 months of other career promotion work.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in [subject area] (link to possible website)within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme through out the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding (remove if the position is not to be funded by external funds)

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (detailed below) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The cover letter, CV, and statement must be in English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• A cover letter explaining your motivation for applying for the PhD position and outlining your ambitions for potential research (approx. 1 page).
• A statement outlining how your skills and experience fulfil the Required and Preferred selection criteria specified above (approx. 2 pages). 
• Curriculum Vitae (CV). 
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees (if this is accepted by your former supervisor). If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. If you have not yet submitted your master’s thesis you can attach a short summary of your project and the expected submission date.
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Scott Burgess scott.c.burgess@ntnu.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Alexander Skomakerstuen alexander.skomakerstuen@ntnu.no 

Application deadline: 20.10.26

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For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 
 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.