4 PHD student positions in food studies, nutrition and dietetics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The research at the Department of Food Studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, is interdisciplinary, exploring the complexity of food and meals in different contexts, involving perspectives from natural and medical science as well as social science. We represent multiple research orientations gathered under three main domains: Communication of Dietetics, Meal Research and Nutrition.

The doctoral positions are advertised in collaboration with the doctoral programme InSyNC, which is funded by the Swedish Research Council. This is the very first national doctoral programme in nutrition and dietetics. The InSyNC programme is permeated by the overarching theme "Integrating sustainability into nutrition care", with research projects and activities within three sub-themes: Nutrition and eating through life, Nutrition in health promotion work and Access to high-quality nutrition care through digitization and innovation. Within the framework of the InSyNC programme, positions are advertised in the following areas:

1) The practice of the clinical dietitian within cancer care
A good nutritional status is central for a patient with cancer in order to optimally tolerate the medical and/or surgical cancer treatment. This research project aims to assess how the physical and psychological health is affected during different phases of the nutrition therapy provided by a dietitian. A deepen understanding of and increased knowledge on how nutrition interventions can be individually tailored to each patient and how this affects the patients’ health status is an important step towards a valuable, effective and equal nutrition care within the field of oncology. The doctoral student will be able to influence the direction and focus of the research project. Of note, proficiency in Swedish is a must for this position.

2) The dietitian in child health care (Barnhälsovården)
The dietitian's competence in child health care/primary health care (Barnhälsovården) is increasingly in demand, however, there are different local and regional conditions for how the dietitian's role may be used. At the same time, there is increasing interest and the need for dietitians to be involved in the prevention of overweight and obesity from an early age. This doctoral project will shed light on how the dietitian's skills are best utilized in child health care/primary health care (Barnhälsovården) and which areas and forms of work may need to be developed. The doctoral student will be given the opportunity to direct parts of their thesis work towards a specific area of interest within the topic studied. Of note, proficiency in Swedish is a must for this position as it may involve interviews with parents, children and stakeholders. 

3) Diet and physical activity for healthy ageing
This PhD project is based on the World Health Organization's first report on healthy aging, which supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The project aims to improve and/or maintain the older person's intrinsic capacity by promoting healthy diet and physical activity. This will be done by screening, assessing and following up the main functional capacities of the study population in collaboration with other professions and through digital infrastructure. The doctoral student will be given the opportunity to direct parts of their thesis work towards a specific area of interest within the topic studied.

4) Dietitians' global application of nutrition informatics – the INIS study
This project is part of the large international INIS study, exploring dietitians’ use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, systematic work processes and terminologies as part of providing a high-quality, person-centered nutrition care. The doctoral student will be an important part of the global working group consisting of approximately 50 researchers from 23 different countries worldwide. Parts of the project will focus on a global survey disseminated to dietitians in the 23 countries. The doctoral student will be given the opportunity to direct parts of their thesis work towards a specific area of interest within the topic studied.

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Duties
Education at the doctoral level comprises four years of full-time study which is financed by a doctoral position (doktorandanställning). In addition to the thesis work, the doctoral education includes courses of 60 credits relevant to the thesis work. Departmental duties (typically teaching and administration) up to 20% can be included in the position.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in food studies, nutrition and dietetics, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

Having completed at least 90 credits in food studies, nutrition and dietetics or equivalent is also required.

We welcome applications from persons that meet the entry requirements and that have an interest in the various research directions that are accommodated within the graduate school.

Additional qualifications
Being a registered dietitian and having documented experience of research with qualitative and/or quantitative methods are advantageous. For position no. 1 and 2, the applicant needs to be proficient in both Swedish and English, both spoken and written. For position no. 3 and 4, the applicant needs to be proficient in English, both spoken and written.

Application procedure
The application must contain a letter in which the applicant briefly describes themselves and their interest in postgraduate education. The letter must also state which of the advertised positions the application refers to, and a ranking regarding these positions. The application must also contain a CV, copies of diplomas and grades, thesis and other documents that the applicant wishes to refer to.

Furthermore, the application must contain a literature review in which the applicant summarizes current scientific research in the relevant subject area (maximum 2 pages including references, in English). If you apply for more than one of the advertised positions, you must write the literature review within the position that you ranked highest.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

The education is also regulated by the Faculty of Social Sciences. You will find information about being a PhD student at the Faculty of Social Sciences here: https://www.samfak.uu.se/research/phd-studies/what-does-a-phd-degree-comprise-/

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: head of department Afsaneh Koochek, e-mail afsaneh.koochek@ikv.uu.se, phone +4618-471 23 13.
For further information about the InSyNC doctoral programme, please contact associate professor Elin Lövestam, elin.lovestam@ikv.uu.se. For further information about the postgraduate education in Food Studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, please contact professor Paulina Nowicka, paulina.nowicka@ikv.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 20 April 2023 UFV-PA 2023/1003.

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