PhD-student

Working Tasks

The PhD candidate will use clinical and proteomic data from a recently complete clinical trial (I-BCT, PI Olav Engebråten) to develop novel protein signatures predicting and monitoring response to neoadjuvant treatment with chemotherapy supplemented with carboplatin. This will be accomplished by applying previously established methods and through development of new ones. Further analysis will also include exploration of treatment-induced immune responses. Addition of the DNA targeting drug carboplatin to neoadjuvant chemotherapy has shown to increase the proportion of patients achieving pathological complete response. For carboplatin to emerge as an important component of breast cancer treatment, it is critical to identify biomarkers indicating benefit for this agent, particularly because it can be associated with substantial toxicity in some patients. The PROPHECY PhD-project will be conducted as part of a larger initiative in the project group converging on molecular precision oncology.
We seek a highly motivated individual holding a MSc or MD degree and want to pursue a PhD degree in our team of about 20 researchers, postdocs, PhD-candidates, technical staff and MSc-students with various backgrounds such as molecular biologists, medical doctors and engineers.
The successful applicant will be enrolled in the PhD-program at Faculty of Medicine - University of Oslo (UiO), and work in the laboratory of Tumor Biology at the Institute of Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital - Radiumhospitalet. A short presentation of the Institute for Cancer Research can be viewed here (youtu.be/MtcgDwqB_6Q).

The selected candidate will follow obligatory PhD courses at UiO, but also have the possibility to attend other relevant courses at UiO and Oslo University Hospital, and present obtained results at international conferences.

Qualifications

• MSc within molecular biology, bioinformatics or biostatistics, or MD degree. 
• Experience with statistics, computational research, programming language (e.g. R) and knowledge in oncology, biomedical research or translational medicine is an advantage
  

Personal qualities and skills

• Curiosity-driven with research ambitions 
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.   
• Collaboration oriented and suitability for the position
  

We can offer

• A welcoming atmosphere at the largest cancer research environment in Norway 
• Modern locations with cutting-edge technologies available 
• Access to unique data from a recently completed clinical trial 
• Regular supervision in multidisciplinary team 

Competitive salary for PhD with yearly wage Membership in pension fund and Insurance

The application must include:    

• Application letter, including a half page motivation letter for pursuing a PhD-degree 
• CV (summarizing formal education and obtained degrees, positions, academic work, scientific publications and other relevant activity)   
• Copies of educational certificates 
• Letter(s) of recommendation (optional) 
• 2-3 referees with names, positions, relation to candidate and contact details (e-mail and telephone number)