Doctoral Research Fellow

About the position

A 4-year position (75 %) PhD fellowship is available at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo. The position will be based at the Department of Rheumatology, Oslo University Hospital (supervisor Marthe Mæhlen MD. PhD) and in close collaboration with Rasmus Iversens lab at Department of Immunology. Both Mæhlen and Iversen are affiliated with K.G. Jebsen center of Specific Autoimmune Therapy (J-SAT). 

Start date will be 01.11.2026.

The research group focuses on B-cell targeting therapies in autoimmune connective tissue disorders (CTD), with special interest in myositis and the antisynthetase syndrome. In light of recent medical advances with the use of CAR-T and Bi-specific T-cell engagers in autoimmune diseases, the interest in safety and efficacy of well-known B-cell depleting therapies is increasingly relevant. Identifying risk factors for therapy-related decreases in immunoglobulins, as well as changes in auto-antibody levels in relation to disease activity is

highly sought after. Moreover, identifying autoantigen-specific B cells is a prime target for future drug therapies in autoimmune diseases.

Project description

The current project will be structured in two parts:

I) Analyses of immunoglobulins and autoantibodies, and their correlations to outcome, in a well-established large cohort of CTD patients subjected to B-cell depleting therapy with rituximab (and other immunosuppressant drugs).
 

II) Plan and lead a pilot study on patients with antisynthetase syndrome in the Department of Rheumatology as well as lab-based research on subsets of B-cells from these patients.
 

The position will be part-time (75 %) over 4 years to provide sufficient time for completion of the pilot study within the timeframe of the PhD period. As the project involves clinical follow-up of patients with connective tissue disorders, we encourage the candidate to hold a part-time clinical position (i.e. 25 %) in rheumatology.

Main tasks include

• Structured clinical follow-up of patients with rheumatic connective tissue disorders
• Planning and leading a prospective follow-up pilot study of myositis patients
• Data analysis/statistics on established longitudinal cohorts of CTD patients treated with rituximab
• Cell-based laboratory work at K.G. Jebsen Center collaborating research groups at Department of Immunology.
• Writing of scientific papers and presentation of results at international conferences

What skills are important in this role?

Qualification requirements

• MD with a licence to practice medicine in Norway
• Specialist or specialist in training in rheumatology. Broad experience from internal medicine is preferred.
• Excellent written and oral proficiency in Norwegian, and good written and oral proficiency in English
• Clinical experience with managing patients with connective tissue disorders, and the ability to work independently.
• To be employed as a PhD Research Fellow, admission to a doctoral program at the Medical Faculty is required.

Preferred skills

• Past experience with lab-based work
• Previous experience with clinical trials/studies

Personal skills

We are looking for a PhD candidate with

• Good communication skills when interacting with both patients and colleagues
• Genuine interest and motivation in translational research, involving both clinical work with patients and lab-based work
• Ability to plan and lead a clinical research project in collaboration with others

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We need different perspectives in our work 

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps, we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found

here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

We offer / We can offer you / Why should you choose us?

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• Committed colleagues in a good working environment. 
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK 550 800 - 600 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Application

Your application should include:

• Application letter.
• CV.
• A complete list of publications.
• Transcripts and certificates.
• Contact information for 2-3 references.

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews. 

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian), Guidelines concerning appointment to recruitment positions at UiO and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.