Associate Senior Lecturer in Precision Medicine
Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 45,000 students, more than 7,000 employees and a turnover of around SEK 7 billion.
The Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) is a national centre for large-scale data and hypothesis-driven research in the field of molecular biosciences. SciLifeLab (www.scilifelab.se) is the joint project of four universities: Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Uppsala University. SciLifeLab is currently looking for an excellent research group leader to reinforce the Uppsala research environment. The position will be within the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, with departmental affiliation decided in conjunction with the appointment.
Description of subject area: Precision medicine includes understanding of processes and factors behind health and disease. Precision medicine makes use of these insights to generate, analyze and interpret data that can be employed to optimize diagnostics and treatment of individual patients. Applications are found in research on disease origin and progression as well as for molecular diagnostics and development of new strategies to treat diseases. The line of research may encompass basic method development, studies of disease models, or patient groups, as well as development of diagnostics and treatment of diseases, that gives special attention to conditions and prerequisites of the individual.
Duties: Research, teaching and administration. Duties also include supervising doctoral students in their research projects and participating in first-cycle courses and study programmes at the department. The successful candidate will also be required to follow developments in precision medicine, and any general societal development of significance to work at the University. Administrative tasks and internal and external elected office may arise. The position is intended to lead to the development of an independent research profile in precision medicine. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to the University’s long tradition of developing methods and technologies for molecular analysis, as well as strengthen the university’s contribution to SciLifeLab (www.scilifelab.se).
Period of employment: An appointment as an associate senior lecturer is a six-year career-development position; however, if extraordinary reasons exist, the appointment may be renewed. An associate senior lecturer may apply for promotion. If the associate senior lecturer is deemed suitable and meets the requirements for promotion, he or she shall be promoted and be employed for an indefinite period as a senior lecturer.
Qualification requirements: According to Chapter 4 Section 4a of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance, a person qualified for appointment as an associate senior lecturer is a person who has been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise. Primary consideration should be given to a person who has been awarded a PhD or achieved the equivalent expertise within five years of the deadline for applications.
According to § 38 of the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University, teaching expertise in accordance with § 23 of the Appointment Regulations is required. The applicant should have completed five weeks of relevant training in learning and teaching in higher education, or acquired equivalent knowledge by some other means. If it is not possible to acquire this qualification prior to appointment, the prerequisite course in learning and teaching in higher education must be completed during the first two years of employment.
According to the University’s Appointment Regulations, general qualification requirements for teachers also include the possession of those personal attributes deemed necessary to fulfil the demands of the position.
The applicant shall have a documented ability to teach in Swedish and English. If exceptional reasons exist, an applicant who currently lacks the ability to teach in Swedish may be assumed to be able to acquire that ability within two years.
Assessment criteria: In selecting qualified applicants, greater importance will be placed on research expertise than on teaching expertise. Particular importance will be placed on the applicant’s capacity to contribute to the future development of both research and education. Technology and method development in precision medicine is a merit.
In the assessment of research expertise, research quality shall be the primary consideration. The scope of research in terms of breadth, depth and relevance to the position will also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration shall be given to the ability to plan, initiate, lead and develop research and third-cycle studies and to obtain research funding in competition, as will the ability to interact with others both within academia and the wider community, cf. §§ 20 and 21 of the Appointment Regulations and § 11 of the Guidelines and Assessment Criteria for Recruitment and Promotion within the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy.
In the assessment of teaching expertise, quality shall be the primary consideration. Scope, both in terms of breadth and depth, shall also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration shall be given to the ability to plan, initiate, lead and develop courses, study programmes and teaching, as well as the ability to relate teaching to current research. Teaching expertise includes the ability to interact with stakeholders within and outside the University on issues related to learning and teaching in higher education, cf. §§ 22, 23 and 38 of the Appointment Regulations and § 12 of the Guidelines and Assessment Criteria.
Administrative expertise is important to the position and will be afforded due consideration. Administrative expertise also includes entrepreneurship. Administrative expertise is demonstrated, for example, through the ability to plan, organise and prioritise work in an effective manner adapted to the task at hand, as well as the ability to allot and maintain time frames. Administrative expertise includes overall operational planning and the capacity to manage resources in a manner that reflects operational priorities, as well as the ability to work in a structured fashion based on set goals and levels of quality, cf. §§ 28 and 29 of the Appointment Regulations and § 13 of the Guidelines and Assessment Criteria.
Management expertise is important to the position and will be afforded due consideration. Management expertise is demonstrated through the ability to lead operations and staff, make decisions, take responsibility and motivate others and provide them with the prerequisites for effectively achieving common goals. Further examples of demonstrated expertise include the ability to coordinate the group, foster commitment, encourage participation and create job satisfaction, as well as the ability to manage conflicts, cf. §§ 30 and 31 of the Appointment Regulations and § 13 of the Guidelines and Assessment Criteria.
Whenever the University appoints a new teacher, the successful candidate will be the person who, based on a qualitative overall assessment of competence and expertise, is deemed to have the best conditions for carrying out and developing the duties in question and for positively contributing to the development of the organisation.
Parental leave, part-time working due to childcare, elected trade union posts, military service or similar circumstances are considered to be work experience and should be included on your curriculum vitae.
All qualifications should be documented in a manner that allows an assessment of both quality and scope. Personal suitability will be afforded consideration.
The gender equality aspect must be applied in connection with employment if it proves, after qualitative assessment, that two applicants of different genders have equivalent or near-equivalent qualifications and one of the genders is under-represented (accounts for less than 40 percent within the relevant position category and at the relevant workplace). The applicant’s parental leave, part-time work due to care of children or the like will be taken into account as qualifying work experience.
Other: The appointment is linked to the SciLifeLab programme, meaning that basic financing is in place of SEK 14 million over six years.