Faculty of Health Sciences , Department of Nursing and Health Promotion

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Health Sciences consists of five departments and offers study programmes on all levels, including PhD. The faculty has about 6000 students and nearly 600 members of staff.

Department of Nursing and Health Promotion is located at all three campus: Kjeller, Pilestredet and Sandvika. The department has approximately 3000 students and 250 employees.

Oslo Metropolitan University - Externally funded research project

OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway’s third largest university, with nearly 22,000 students and more than 2,200 employees. OsloMet has a dynamic stimulating research intensive academic environment and an attractive employment framework. OsloMet is a diverse and urban university with an international profile; its main campus is in the city center, providing a vibrant setting to study, conduct research, and work. 

Call for Expression of Interest for a joint application under the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme – Call: MSCA-PF-2023

Hereby OsloMet invites interested experienced researchers of any nationality, who have a PhD degree and maximum eight (8) years of research experience after having obtained the PhD degree, to apply for the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship (call HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2023) to conduct research at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University for a period of two years.

Department of Nursing and Health Promotion educates nurses, paramedics and offers two master programs in nutrition. The department has Norway's largest nursing research environment and conducts a wide range of high-impact research of relevance to health and health professions. Research is done in close collaboration with hospitals, clinics, and user participation. Section for Nutrition specializes in nutrition research from molecular nutrition to public health nutrition. Human dietary intervention studies are regularly performed at the department.

Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering (SimulaMet) specializes in research and education within networks and communications, IT management, and machine learning and data science. The company is owned by Simula Research Laboratory AS (SRL) and the Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet). SimulaMet was established in response to the needs of Norway, and more broadly of Europe, to strengthen research and education capacity in ICT and digitalization. The mission is to conduct research in digital engineering at the highest international level, educate and supervise PhD and Master’s students at OsloMet, and contribute to innovation in society through collaboration, start-up companies and licensing of research results.

Area of research

Dietary intake is an important factor affecting metabolic regulation, and thereby affecting human health and fitness. However, evidence has shown that people eating identical meals show high variability in metabolic response, such as blood glucose and lipids. Individual response to dietary components has been known for a long time and hence, one set of dietary advice may not be equally efficient for all individuals. With new technology and analytical tools, we may be able to develop more personalized approaches. In addition, we might also be able to find new biomarkers of individual blood glucose response using explainable machine learning (ML) methods. To improve health, and reduce the risk of diseases, we need to investigate individual variation using high-throughput analyses of biological data on individual health. 

The candidates are invited to address the relation between individual metabolic responses, diet, and lifestyle using different machine learning methods. The candidates may want to address questions such as: How does diet and lifestyle affect individual metabolic responses, such as blood glucose? What are the characteristics of individuals with a given metabolic response on diet and lifestyle? What are the best machine learning models for prediction of individual metabolic response and blood glucose levels?

Successful candidates will be supervised by Professor Paal Halvorsen and Associate professors Vibeke Telle-Hansen, Mari Myhrstad and Michael A. Riegler. Professor Pål Halvorsen, is Head of Department and Chief Research Scientist at SimulaMet and is also a Professor at OsloMet and Professor II at the University of Oslo. He studies all aspects of distributed systems, especially performance and efficiency perspectives, and uses real-world applications as case studies. In particular, he has participated and/or led numerous research projects, both in academia and in industry. These have mainly been in the area of sports and medicine and various prototypes have been developed and tested, both in a clinical setting or in the sports fields. In this respect, he has extensive practical responsible research and innovation (RRI) experience having co-founded three technology companies (Forzasys AS, Augere Medical AS, and Orca AS - of which he is the CEO of Forzasys and sitting in the board for Augere). He will provide expertise on AI and ML systems within medical and biological applications.

Associate Professor Michael A. Riegler is a leading researcher in the field of ML for biomedical and medical applications in Norway. He is a chief research scientist at the Holistic Systems Department at SimulaMet and an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science at UIT - the Artic University of Tromsø. He has more than eight years of experience with research on ML in different medical fields such as human reproduction, gastroenterology and psychology. He has conducted basic research but also developed systems that are deployed and tested in clinical practice. He has published in leading international conferences and journals, on topics relevant for this project.

Telle-Hansen and Myhrstad have more than 15 years’ experience with human nutrition and dietary randomized controlled trials. Their research interest and competence are within nutrition and health, molecular nutrition, metabolic regulation, glycemic regulation, lipid metabolism, obesity, inflammation, gut microbiota, molecular mechanisms, and omics technology (transcription and metabolome). For more information, see their profiles at Vibeke Telle-Hansen - OsloMet and Mari Myhrstad - OsloMet.

With this call for Expression of Interest, we invite researchers to submit their application accompanied by CV (including publication list) and a one-page project description, that will be the basis for selecting a maximum of two candidates with whom we will collaborate for developing competitive MSCA-PF proposals. The cooperation for the proposal development will be carried out remotely, with regular online communication via email and virtual meeting platforms. Applicants who are successful in getting their proposals funded by the EU, must relocate to work in the Department of Nutrition, Institute of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences and SimulaMet, at OsloMet main campus, in the center of Oslo.

Starting Date of the fellowship

The EU shall inform the results on the MSCA-PF-2023 applications in February 2023. Successful applicants are expected to be available to start the fellowship project from within the two months following the announcement of results and no later than summer 2023. 

Main duties of the position

The successful candidate will primarily work on the MSCA fellowship funded project but will be integrated in the Department of Nutrition/Nursing and Health Promotion and SimulaMet in general, taking part in regular meetings and discussion groups. The candidate will specifically be introduced with Prof. Pål Halvorsen, Associate Professors Vibeke Telle-Hansen, Mari Myhrstad and Michael A. Riegler´s national and international network of researchers. In agreement with the candidate, he/she would be included in other ongoing projects and/or in the development of grant applications processes. 

Expected qualification of applicants 

Candidates must have a PhD in nutrition, molecular biology, or bioinformatics as the minimum requirement.  We are primarily looking for experienced researchers who wish to use this period as an opportunity to further develop their research, and to develop longer term research collaborations with OsloMet and other organizations conducting research in the field.  must be eligible for a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: have a PhD successfully defended by the submission deadline (mid-September 2023), a maximum of eight (8) years research experience after PhD, and not having worked/studied in Norway more than 12 months in the last three years.

We are looking for applicants who have

  • Knowledge of nutrition, molecular biology, precision nutrition and statistics/bioinformatics
  • A good track record in research and publications
  • Commitment to develop a competitive MSCA-PF grant application
  • Willing to explore machine learning methods and how they can be applied in their area of expertise
  • An open and cooperation-oriented nature, with strong abilities for independent academic work
  • Excellent command / highly proficient spoken and written English

Assessment and selection of candidates

Evaluation will be based on the qualification and project idea. Interested candidates must submit with their application the following documents:

  • CV (including research track record and list of publications)
  • A one-page description of the project idea for which a MSCA-PF grant will be applied (no predefined structure, excluding references)

Short-listed candidates will be invited for a virtual interview to select candidates that will be invited to develop the full MSCA-PF application with deadline by mid-September 2023 under the supervision of Professor Pål Halvorsen, Associate Professor Michael A. Riegler, Associate Professor Vibeke Telle-Hansen and Associate Professor Mari Myhrstad and with the support of the professional research administration staff at OsloMet. 

Under this call announcement a maximum of five candidates will be interviewed and two candidates will be invited to write applications with the endorsement of OsloMet. Candidates will be informed of the results of the internal pre-selection and invitation to apply within the two weeks following the interview. 

Original documents about your qualification must be presented if you are invited for an interview. OsloMet performs document inspections in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and to ensure a fair competition. Proposals will be pre-selected based on internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. All documents that you hand in to OsloMet, including your proposal idea, will be handled in full confidentiality and in strict compliance with GDPR regulations.

Selected candidates must participate in the virtual masterclass on MSCA-PF, a two-day workshop organized by OsloMet on 19-20 April 2023 to provide applicants with detailed information and explanation of the application template to complete their proposal in compliance with the EU Commission requirements.

The postdoctoral position

Successful applicants who obtain a MSCA-PF grant will be offered a position at OsloMet to be hired as postdoctoral researchers to implement their proposed research projects, in conditions as explained below.

We offer:

OsloMet assists in developing competitive MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship proposals. Then, to successful applicants who are awarded the MSC-PF grant, we offer:

  • Flexible working conditions
  • An inclusive and friendly work environment
  • Unique academic network with the possibility for the right candidate(s) to pursue his/her academic goals under the auspices of Professor Pål Halvorsen, Associate Professor Michael A. Riegler, Associate Professor Vibeke Telle-Hansen and Associate Professor Mari Myhrstad
  • Norwegian language classes
  • Onboarding assistance for relocation and other services

The position adheres to the Norwegian Government’s policy that the national labour force. It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population diversity, all qualified candidates from any nationality are welcomed to apply. OsloMet is an IA (Inclusive Workplace) organisation and operates in compliance with the Norwegian IA agreement. We make our active endeavour to further develop OsloMet as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required. If there are periods in your career when you have not been working, under education or training, you are also eligible to apply. Questions may be directed to the contact persons (per below).

Remuneration:

The competitive fellowship opportunities are 100% funded and include living and mobility allowances. 

  • Type of employment: Temporary position
  • Contract type: Full time
  • Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000
  • Starting day of employment: (expected): TBD between 1 April – 1 Sept 2024
  • Number of positions: 1 – 2
  • Working hours: 37.5 hours/week

OsloMet has implemented the Charter & Code for researchers and been granted the HR Excellence in Research (HRS4) by the EU Commission and is part of the EU network for mobility of Researchers EURAXESS. Practical information about relocation to OsloMet can be found here and at EURAXESS Norway

Contact 

  • Nina Ånensen, R&I staff, ninaanen@Oslomet.no 
  • Vibeke Telle-Hansen, Associate Professor, vtelle@oslomet.no               
  • Address: Pilestredet 46, Oslo 0350, Norway

Last day of application

Call closes on 31st January 2023

Published: 16th of December 2022

Reference number: 22/09004

Type of employment Temporary position (shorter than 10 days)
Contract type Full time
First day of employment TBD between 1 April – 1 Sept 2024
Salary Annual Salary: Approx. EUR 60,000
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Oslo
County Oslo
Country Norway
Reference number 22/09004
Contact
  • Vibeke Telle-Hansen, +4767236819
  • Nina Ånensen, +4767235876
Published 16.Dec.2022
Last application date 31.Jan.2023 11:59 PM CET

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