Associate Senior Lecturer in PET diagnostics with specialisation in neurodegeneration

The Molecular Geriatrics research group at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences works at the Rudbeck Laboratory. The group’s research primarily focuses on therapy and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases. The research is conducted in collaboration with other research groups, both in Sweden and internationally, with the Memory Clinic and PET Centre at Uppsala University Hospital and with various pharmaceutical companies. The research group is also responsible for courses or course modules in several different programmes, such as the medicine programme and the biomedicine programme. To strengthen both research and teaching capabilities, we are looking to recruit an associate senior lecturer in PET diagnostics specialising in the development of antibody-based PET radioligands in neurodegeneration.

Description of the subject area

The research focus will be the development of new PET diagnostics, in particular radioligands based on antibodies targeting proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease processes.

Duties

The position includes research, teaching and administration. The associate senior lecturer will primarily work on developing new radiochemical methodologies for labelling antibodies and proteins with appropriate radionuclides. The duties include the development and implementation of teaching at the Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral level in the field of PET radiochemistry, molecular imaging, and neurodegeneration. Teaching includes the supervision of doctoral students, course coordination and course administration. The duties also include running and initiating both national and international collaborations, actively applying for external research grants, and monitoring developments within one’s own subject area and general societal developments significant to the work at the University.

Period of appointment

Employment as an associate senior lecturer is a six-year career-development position. However, if special reasons exist, the term of employment may be renewed for no more than two years. An associate senior lecturer may apply and be considered for promotion. A written application to be considered for promotion to senior lecturer must be received by the Disciplinary Domain Board for Medicine and Pharmacy no later than six months before the appointment as associate senior lecturer ends. If the associate senior lecturer is assessed as suitable and meets the requirements for promotion, they shall be promoted and employed as a senior lecturer under an indefinite contract.

Qualifications

According to chapter 4, section 4a of the Higher Education Ordinance, a person who has been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise is qualified for appointment as an associate senior lecturer. According to section 44a of the Guidelines and Assessment Criteria for Recruiting and Promoting Teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy (GA), primary consideration shall be given to an applicant who has been awarded a PhD or has achieved equivalent expertise no more than seven years before the end of the application period. According to section 5 of the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University (AR), having the personal characteristics required to perform the duties of the post well is a general eligibility requirement for teachers. Upon promotion to a higher teaching position, the applicant must demonstrate adequate skills in both Swedish and English to be able to contribute to the University’s internal work. See section 6, AR.

The position requires experience of working with radionuclides suitable for labelling antibodies, as well as strategies for pretargeting, where click chemistry is used for in vivo labelling of antibodies.

The applicant must have a documented ability to teach in Swedish or English.

Assessment criteria

When selecting from among multiple qualified applicants, research expertise will be assigned greater weight than teaching expertise. However, a balanced assessment will be made such that an applicant with significantly greater teaching expertise may be ranked above an applicant with somewhat greater research expertise.

When assessing research expertise, particular weight will be given to qualifications in the field of PET radiochemistry, and in particular in the development of PET radioligands based on antibodies for target systems related to neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, qualifications in preclinical research on neurodegenerative diseases related to the ageing brain will be of particular importance for the position and given greater weight. Documented experience of preclinical in vivo experiments in models of neurodegenerative diseases is a plus, as is knowledge of and experience in recombinant design, expression and purification of proteins, click chemistry for in vitro modification of proteins, and biochemical methods for analysing protein properties.

Research expertise refers to research qualifications. In assessing research expertise, research quality will be the prime consideration. The scope of the research, particularly in terms of its depth and breadth, will also be taken into account. Furthermore, consideration shall be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop research and doctoral-level education, the ability to acquire research funding in competition, as well as demonstrated ability to collaborate and engage with the wider community through research. (Section 20 of the AR). See also Section 11 of Guidelines and Assessment Criteria for Recruiting and Promoting Teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy (GA).

Teaching expertise refers to teaching qualifications. In assessing teaching expertise, teaching quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth, shall also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration will be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead, and develop education and teaching, as well as the ability to connect research to teaching. The ability to interact with actors inside and outside the University in relation to issues of teaching and learning in higher education is also included in teaching expertise. (Section 22 of the AR). See also Section 12 of the GA.

The applicant should have completed at least five weeks of training in teaching and learning in higher education relevant to the programme, or have equivalent skills. If the applicant was unable to complete such a qualification prior to employment, the qualifying training in teaching and learning in higher education must be completed during the first two years of employment. (Section 39 of the AR.)

Assessment criteria, other expertise

Administrative and management expertise are also significant to the position and will be assigned weight. The ability to collaborate with the wider community and to communicate information about research and development work will be taken into account.

Administrative expertise is demonstrated through, for example, the capacity to plan, organise and prioritise work in a suitable and effective manner, as well as the ability to specify and adhere to time frames. This form of expertise includes overall work planning; the ability to manage resources in a way that reflects operational priorities; and the ability to work in a structured manner and on the basis of an awareness of goals and quality. (Section 28 of the AR). See also Section 13 of the GA.

Management expertise is demonstrated through an ability to lead activities and staff, make decisions, assume responsibility, motivate others and provide them with what they require for the effective achievement of common objectives. The ability to coordinate a group and to help generate a sense of commitment, participation and job satisfaction, and the ability to deal with conflicts, are further examples of how expertise is demonstrated. (Section 30 of the AR). See also Section 13 of the GA.

When assessing collaborative expertise, experience with and expertise in education and outreach, editorships and other activities related to knowledge exchange between the University and the wider community, as well as experience with innovation and entrepreneurship, shall be of significance. (Section 14 of the GA)

In an overall assessment of the applicants’ qualifications, parental leave, part-time work due to childcare, trade union responsibilities, military service or similar activities shall be treated as work experience. (Section 94 of the AR)

When hiring new teachers, the University shall select the applicants who, upon a qualitative overall assessment of their competence and expertise, are judged to have the best potential to perform and develop the duties concerned and to contribute to the positive development of activities. (Section 4 of the AR).

The gender equality aspect shall be applied in connection with employment if, after qualitative assessment, two applicants of different genders are found to 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). (Section 95 of the AR)

All qualifications must be documented to enable assessment of both quality and scope.

International experts may be involved in the assessment of submitted applications. In such a case, application documents written in Swedish may need to be sent to a translator contracted by the University.

Links to relevant regulations and instructions

Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University

Guidelines and Assessment Criteria for Recruiting and Promoting Teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy

Career portfolios: Compilation Instructions and Assessment Guidelines for the Recruitment of Teachers, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy

For further information about the position, please contact
Professor Stina Syvänen, e-mail: stina.syvanen@uu.se

We welcome your application no later than June 2, 2025, UFV-PA 2024/4209