Here, applications will be invited for two four years full-time doctoral student positions starting at 1.1.2020 in University of Oulu, Finland. Students will belong to Biocenter Oulu project headed by the PIs professors Lauri Eklund and Vesa Kiviniemi providing highly complementary expertise in endothelial cell and molecular biology, advanced microscopic imaging, disease modeling, clinical neuroimaging and advanced BBB therapy research.

Research and educational environment

The University of Oulu is one of the largest universities in Finland. With about 15 000 students and approximately 3 000 employees it is a vibrant international scientific community. Biocenter Oulu (BCO) is an umbrella organization within “the Molecular and environmental basis of life-long health research” focus area of the University of Oulu. By combining multidisciplinary research approach, top-level infrastructures and wide cooperation with international research and educational institutes, BCO and University of Oulu Graduate School (UniOGS) provide structured, high quality and research-driven PhD training program. More information, please see:

http://www.oulu.fi/english/
http://www.oulu.fi/biocenter/
http://www.oulu.fi/uniogs/

Subject fields and description of positions 

The central nervous system (CNS) including the brain and the retina, is metabolically highly active tissue. Failures in the potential CNS clearance pathways have been recently implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s dementia and neuro-ocular disorders. In most cases no therapy or prevention exists due to limited understanding of clearance mechanisms, lack of suitable techniques for clinical monitoring and limited knowledge how to translate information to the clinical work. This project will aim to advance the understanding on neurohydrodynamic mechanisms and to optimize targeted treatments to enhance drainage and waste clearance pathways to prevent neurological diseases. Studies will be including blood and lymphatic vascular biology, pre-clinal disease modeling, advanced multimodal neuroimaging and sensor technologies. Work will be conducted in multidisiplinary research environment involving a close collaboration with clinicians and engineers on (pre)clinical monitoring of the model diseases.

• PhD student position 1: Studies focus on endothelial cell, vascular and glymphatic biology, tissues drainage mechanisms and their dysfunctions in mouse models. 
• PhD student position 2: Studies focus on technical development of neuro-ophthalmological imaging/sensing technologies for model diseases. 

Requirements

To successfully occupy the position the candidate must possess a Master’s degree or an equivalent degree (e.g. licentiate). Degree must have been completed by 31.12.2019.  Ability to pursue independent research and excellent writing and fluency in English is expected. The selected candidate will carry out his/her doctoral studies in the Health and Biosciences Doctoral Programme of the University of Oulu Graduate School (UniOGS) and must meet the minimal requirements to receive doctoral study rights as defined in https://www.oulu.fi/uniogs/requirements_for_admission. Both positions are intended for an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) who, according to the ”European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers”, is defined as a researcher in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of his/her research activity, including the period of research training. Applicants will be either starting their doctoral training or will have completed no more than two full years of training (adjusted for possible previous part-time status) at the time the position is filled.

• PhD student position 1:The successful applicant is expected to have experience in ocular, neuro, or vascular biology. We also appreciate previous training/experience with laboratory animals and microscopy.
• PhD student position 2:  The successful applicant has training in technical sciences, medical technologies, biophysics or optoelectronics. We also appreciate previous training/experience in ophthalmological imaging or functional neuroimaging (such as fMRI, NIRS, EEG) and experience in programming (Matlab, Pyton, Linux,.. etc.) and/or use of advanced neuroimaging data pipelines.

Salary

The salary will be set on levels 2 – 4 of the national salary scale for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. PhD students start on level 2, and position later on levels 3 to 4. In addition, a supplementary remuneration will be given for personal achievement and performance (max. 50%). The salary thus being roughly 2200 – 3500 € / month before taxes and depending on the student qualifications and progress of the doctoral thesis.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted using the electronic application form by September 13., 2019, 24:00 (Finnish local time, applications sent by email will not be considered) with the following attachments as three separate pdf files:

1. Complete CV containing contact information of at least two referees (max. size limit of the attachment: 5 Mbytes).
2. Motivation letter describing prior knowledge, research interests and career plans (1-2 pages; max. size limit of the attachment: 2 Mbytes).
3. Certificates/Diplomas: Scanned electronic copies of diplomas and transcripts of the records of relevant previous degrees. If the original documents are not in English or Finnish, each document must be accompanied by an official certified translation into English or Finnish. (Max. size limit of the attachment: 2 Mbytes)

Other relevant information

Please indicate if you apply the PhD student position 1 or PhD student position 2, or your preference if you apply both positions. The eligible applicants fitting best in the research profile expected for the position may be invited to an on-site or remote interview. All applicants will be notified when the selection process is completed.

Link to project abstract

https://www.oulu.fi/sites/default/files/content/BCO_project_abstract.pdf

Contacts

Professor Lauri Eklund, lauri.eklund@oulu.fi

Professor Vesa Kiviniemi, vesa.kiviniemi@oulu.fi