Assistant Professor in Environmental Physiology

Uppsala University’s tenure track system grants assistant professors the possibility to be assessed for promotion to the position as associate professor. The university provides support in various areas, such as scientific and educational development, leadership development as well as patent and innovation support.

The position is part of the SciLifeLab Fellows program and will be placed within the Physiology and Environmental Toxicology program at the Department of Organismal Biology. The Department of Organismal Biology teaches and studies evolution, development, and function in whole organisms. For more information, see www.iob.uu.se.

The Physiology and Environmental Toxicology program is a growing, vibrant research environment where experimental models and molecular tools are used to study and understand cellular and molecular mechanisms in animals and plants underlying whole organisms' physiology, development, and responses to the environment. https://www.uu.se/en/department/organismal-biology/research/physiology-and-environmental-toxicology.

The Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) is a national center for leading edge technological infrastructures that supports large-scale data and hypothesis-driven research in the field of molecular biosciences. SciLifeLab (www.scilifelab.se) operates nationally, engaging all major Universities of Sweden including the four founding universities: Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Uppsala University. SciLifeLab brings together researchers across traditional boundaries and promotes collaborations with industry, healthcare, public research organizations and international partners. As a SciLifeLab Fellow, the recruited researcher will be part of the dynamic SciLifeLab community both locally in Uppsala and in Sweden at large. For information about the SciLifeLab fellow program, see https://www.scilifelab.se/research/#fellows. SciLifeLab Fellows are also part of a broad national network of future academic leaders within SciLifeLab and Wallenberg's national program for data-driven life science (DDLS fellows) and the fellow programs at the Wallenberg Centers for Molecular Medicine (WCMM fellows), within the network Program for Academic leaders in Life Science, PALS, see https://www.palsnetwork.se.

Description of subject area of the employment: Environmental physiology examines how organisms respond to various environmental factors. This field employs advanced experimental models and cutting-edge methods to understand how cellular and molecular mechanisms shape the physiology and metabolism of organisms, and how these processes respond to environmental changes. Recent advancements in plant and animal physiology have been accelerated by the use of novel single-cell and tissue analysis techniques, providing a deeper understanding of how molecular interactions, biochemical processes, and cell-to-cell communication collectively shape development and function. Additionally, computational methods now allow for examining how these mechanisms impact system-wide properties such as biodiversity and their influence on ecosystem stability.

Duties: 

• Teaching, research and administration. Teaching duties include course responsibility and course administration and supervision of second- and third-cycle students.
  
  
• Follow developments within the subject area and broader societal trends that are important for the university.

Appointment Period: The position as Assistant Professor can be held for a maximum of six years. During this time, an Assistant Professor can apply for promotion to a tenured position as Associate Professor. If the Assistant Professor is deemed suitable and fulfills the criteria for promotion established by the Faculty Board he/she shall be promoted to and employed as Associate Professor.

Qualifications Required:

• PhD. Applicants who have obtained a PhD degree or achieved the equivalent competence in seven years or less prior to the end of the application period will be given priority.
  
  
• Research Expertise and Teaching Expertise. It is necessary that the pedagogical skills, the research expertise and the professional skills are relevant to the content of the employment and the tasks that will be included in the employment.
  
  
• Applicants should have completed teacher training of relevance to operations at the University, comprising five weeks, or have acquired the equivalent knowledge. If special circumstances apply, this training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years of employment.
  
  
• Documented ability to teach in Swedish or English is a requirement unless special reasons prevail.
  
  
• Personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Assessment Criteria/Ranking of applicants that fulfil the above-mentioned qualifications required

The ranking of eligible applicants will be based primarily on research and teaching expertise, of which weight will be primarily given to research expertise.

Research Expertise comprises research merits as well as the applicant´s potential to contribute to the future development of both research and teaching. In assessing research expertise research quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. In assessing research expertise, special weight will be attached to research merits in studies on physiological processes in response to environmental signals and exposures, and the use of technologies relevant to the Scilifelabs facilities for delineating such responses.

Teaching Expertise comprises educational and 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, must also be afforded consideration.

Management Expertise is important and will be afforded consideration. Management expertise is demonstrated through the capacity to lead operations and personnel, make decisions, take responsibility, and motivate others, providing them with what is needed for the efficient achievement of common goals. The abilities to coordinate the group and help create a sense of involvement, participation, and enjoyment in work and to deal with conflicts constitute further examples of demonstrated expertise.

Collaboration Expertise is important and will be afforded high consideration. Collaborative expertise is demonstrated by the ability and skill of planning, organizing and implementing interaction with the surrounding community. Popular publications, public debate and lectures are examples of forms of interaction with the surrounding community. Other examples of collaboration are patent applications, commercialization and industrial cooperation. The ability to translate knowledge sharing with the surrounding community into activities of importance to the
education's development and quality is part of the collaboration expertise.

All merits must be documented in a manner that makes it possible to assess both quality and scope.

In filling this position the university aims to appoint the applicant who, following a qualitative holistic assessment of her/his competence and expertise, is judged to have the best potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties and to help advance operations.

Further information

In an overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, parental leave, part-time work relating to care of children, union assignments, military service, or the like are to be regarded as work experience.

University appointment regulations

Faculty appointment regulations

Instructions for application

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

For further information about the position, please contact Joëlle Rüegg, head of department, +46-18-4716164, joelle.ruegg@ebc.uu.se

Type of position: Temporary full-time position six years.

Salary: Individually negotiated salary. 

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

Please submit your application by 30 May 2025, UFV-PA 2025/524.

If you are an international candidate, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus.