Postdoctoral - Data Scientist in (eco)toxicology

NIVA’s Section for Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment covers all aspects of environmental hazards and risks of chemicals in the aquatic environment. We use a combination of experimental (eco)toxicological (in vitro and in vivo) testing and computational (in silico) approaches to improve the knowledge of chemical exposure (e.g. monitoring data), fate, distribution, effects and risk assessment in the aquatic system. The successful candidates will be joining the EXPECT (https://www.niva.no/en/projects/expect) and PARC (https://www.eu-parc.eu/) project teams.

EXPECT will develop computational and experimental approaches to assess organism and population impacts from key Arctic industries, such as aquaculture and oil and gas production, with special focus on establishing causal relationships between pollutant emissions and adverse effects at the organism and population level.

The PARC project aims to develop next-generation chemical risk assessment (NGRA) to protect human health and the environment, and involves assessment of exposure, effects and risk as well as integrating these into pragmatic solutions to support research and regulatory needs. The proposed work will be intimately linked to pioneering the development of Source To Outcome Pathways (STOPs) to characterize the source-exposure-effect-impact relationships for pollutants and their mixtures for use in subsequent Cumulative Risk Assessment (CRA) in the aquatic environment.

We are now seeking two highly motivated Postdocs to join our section. Please specify in your application which position ( Postdoc 1 or Postdoc 2) you apply for.

The postdocs positions have a duration of 2 years.

Work assignments

The postdoc candidates will contribute to establishing NGRA tools in the two projects. The postdocs will be involved in the advancement of the STOP concept and development of the STOPredictor (https://www.niva.no/en/source-to-outcome-predictor).

Postdoc 1:will work on parametrization and modelling of qualitative and quantitative Aggregate Exposure Pathways (AEPs) – mainly focusing on chemometrics and assessment of environmental emission, fate & distribution, and internal dose modelling.
Postdoc 2: will parametrize and model qualitative and quantitative Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) – mainly focusing on molecular to individual/population effects modeling and bioinformatics.

They will collectively perform FAIRification of data, use/reuse of available data, statistical/predictive modeling and development of STOPs, the STOPredictor and CRA in NIVAs Computational Toxicology Program (https://www.niva.no/en/featured-pages/nctp).

The successful candidates will be involved in the following tasks:

• Development and organization of data into AEPs (postdoc 1) and AOPs (postdoc 2)
• Designing workflows, data analysis and visualization pipelines/user interfaces (UIs) for large exposure (postdoc 1) and effect datasets (postdoc 2)
• Development and use of mathematical and statistical models for integrated data analysis (both postdocs)
• Development and evaluation of (quantitative) STOPs and use of STOPs in NGRA (both postdocs)
• Publication of peer-reviewed articles in relevant high impact Journals (both postdocs)
• Presentation of research at regional, national, and/or international conferences and workshops (both postdocs)
• Mentoring and transferring of knowledge to colleagues (both postdocs)
  

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant fields (data sciences, computational toxicology, mathematical modelling, chemometrics, bioinformatics or similar)
• Relevant experience in programming using R and python, mathematical modelling (design, implementation, numerical solutions and evaluation of models), chemometrics and/or bioinformatics
• Knowledge of advanced and applied statistics
• Knowledge and experience in exposure assessment, AEP development and/or source, emission, transport, fate, exposure and internal dose modeling/prediction (postdoc 1)
• Knowledge and experience in toxicity assessment, AOP development and/or prediction of toxicity (mode of action to adversity), effects modelling, bioinformatics and/or risk assessment (postdoc 2)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential. Strong ability to communicate in English, both verbally and in writing is required.
  

Personal characteristics

We offer

• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a leading national water science research institute with great social significance
• Opportunities for professional and personal development in an organization were responsibility and initiative are highly valued
• Flexible working hours
• Great pension and insurance schemes
• A comprehensive network of national and international researchers
• A multicultural, social, and creative work environment
• Access to a gym at the office and to NIVAs cabin in Hemsedal

Information about the process
In our recruitment processes, we utilize Semac background checks. This includes, among other things, document and source verification to confirm the validity of the documentation you have submitted.