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Stillingstittel:
Four PhD Fellowship in Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, Sport and Technology

Stillingsbeskrivelse:
Jobbnorge ID: 163795

Information

Department of Physical Performance is offering 4-5 four-year PhD fellowship for the period 2019-2022. The fellowship is offered in seven research areas as described below. The candidate must choose one of the research areas and make an application highlighting hers or his qualifications in the specific topic.

The successful candidate will be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at NIH. Employment as a PhD fellow will be conditional on successful enrolment in the PhD programme.
 

Research areas

1. The influence of skill learning on technique and performance in skiing

Research environment
The PhD Student will be working on applied sports performance with focus on movement analyses in winter sports. Specifically, the work will include research in the field of skill learning, biomechanics and subsequently performance analysis with new technological advantages such as GPS and IMU. The PhD project will take place in an ongoing research environment within applied sports performance and technology with other PhD-, master- and bachelor students. Training and guidance will take place by expert senior researchers within the field.
Project abstractJV_description
Motor skills can be define as activities or tasks that require voluntary control over movements of body segments to achieve a specific goal. When coaches design practices for skill learning, it is their interest to stimuli creatively that will impose long-lasting and positive effects on learning, movement and performance. Moreover, every athlete has their own unique set of pre-existing knowledge, rendering it difficult to foresee how the learner will receive and respond to the training stimuli. Furthermore, skills are susceptible to interference and forgetting. Thus, even if a learner successfully manages to perform a skill in one training session, there is no guarantee that the athlete will do so in the next session. An interesting question that emerges is whether it is possible to develop effective learning paradigms that can be used to maximise skill learning, technique and performance in skiing sports. To evaluate the effect of motor learning in field condition, use of new technological advantages such as GPS and IMU is clearly progressing. The aim of this project is to conduct experimental work to explore the influence of skill learning on technique and performance within winter sports in field conditions.

Principal supervisor, Associated Professor Thomas Losnegard, thomas.losnegard (at) nih.no

Co-supervisors: Associated Professor Matthias Gilgien, Assistant Professor Per Haugen

2. Cellular recovery mechanisms after exercise and characterization of the overloaded muscle

Research environment
The PhD Student will be working in the "Muscle group" where the research focus is on muscular adaptations to training and cellular recovery processes after exercise. Muscular adaptations and exercise stress are investigated in muscle biopsies analysed with standard immunohistochemical methods and immunological methods for protein analyses. The PhD project will take place in an inspiring research environment with other PhD students, postdocs, master students and other students. Training and guidance will take place on an ongoing basis by senior researchers and experienced lab-engineers. During the PhD it is expected that the candidate spend some time for analyses in the lab of a collaborating research group abroad.

Project abstractJV_description
In the planned PhD project, the focus will be on cellular recovery processes after different exercise protocols and characterization of the overloaded muscle. In our previous studies, changes in Ca2+ stress during exercise have been shown to acutely influence different cellular structures and stress responses, reducing force-generating capacity and initiating cellular remodelling. In the PhD project, a series of acute studies involving a range of different exercise stresses will be conducted in order to further investigate structural and functional changes in the early recovery process. A combination of cellular analyses on biopsies and non-invasive characterisation of muscle tissue properties by shear wave elastography and testing of functional properties will be performed in order to link the cellular changes to muscle function.

Principal supervisor, Professor Truls Raastad, mail: truls.raastad (at) nih.no, tlf. +47 23262328

Co-supervisors: Olivier Seynnes and Gøran Paulsen

3. Physical Activity and Fitness among Childhood Cancer Survivors

Research environment
This project is a collaboration between Department of Sports Medicine and Department of Physical Performance. The PhD Student will be working with metabolic, physiological and physical performance tests in a group of childhood cancer survivors and healthy controls (10-18 years old). The Physical Activity and Fitness among Childhood Cancer Survivors (PACCS) study is an ongoing multidisciplinary and multicenter study. The tests are performed mainly in the laboratories at NIH. The successful PhD candidate will through supervision and in collaboration with the PACCS group researchers be responsible for a sub-project on metabolic health indicators and will have the opportunity to work in a stimulating, multidisciplinary and international research environment.

Project abstractJV_description
The PACCS project responds to the urgent call to create generalizable, objective and robust data on physical activity, physical fitness and metabolic health indicators in young childhood cancer survivors, using clinical and scientific assessment methods. The overall aim of the PACCS project is to improve physical activity, fitness, health parameters and quality of life of young childhood cancer survivors.

Principal supervisor, Professor Sigmund A Anderssen, s.a.anderssen (at) nih.no

Co-supervisor, Associated professor May Grydeland, may.grydeland (at) nih.no, Phone: +47 23 26 23 20

4. Influence of core strength on performance parameters in swimming

Research environment
The PhD student will be working with state of the art technologies in the interception of biomechanics and physiology conducting dry-land and aquatic measurements on strength, muscular activity, stroke kinematics, energy cost and drag in swimming. The combination of such a varied set of methodologies will be a novel approach to the investigation of swimming performance, promoting cooperation between research fields and international collaborations. The PhD project will take place in an inspiring research environment with experienced professors and researchers, other PhD students, postdocs, master and bachelor students.

Project abstractJV_description

Core strength training (CST) is widely implemented in current Strength & Conditioning programs. Still, no studies have explained performance related-variables in conjunction with CST. It has been suggested that trunk muscle strength may improve the streamline position of the swimmer as well as better resist non-intended movements during the stroke cycle and allow for an optimum production of force to the distal segments. Despite popular beliefs, there is little scientific evidence of its effects on swimming performance. Thus, the aim of this PhD project is to investigate the effect of core strength on key biomechanical and physiological variables related to swimming performance.

Principal supervisor, Doctor Bjørn Harald Olstad, b.h.olstad (at) nih.no, Direct Phone: +47 23 26 23 57

5. Protein requirement and metabolism in endurance athletes

Research environment
The PhD Student will be working with human exercise physiology experiments, including ergometers, metabolic costs, blood samples and muscle biopsies including biochemical analyses. The research includes severe work with logistics and exercise experiments. Specifically, the work will include interventions, endurance exercise testing and collection of biological material for subsequently analysis. The PhD project will take place in an inspiring research environment with other PhD students, postdocs and master students. The projects will also include international collaboration. Training and guidance will take place by senior researchers.

Project abstractJV_description
Carbohydrate and fat are the major energy substrates during endurance exercise. Still, endurance athletes have a high requirement of protein intake to maintain nitrogen balance and high performance. We have shown that intake of protein immediately after exhaustive exercise leads to higher performance the following day compared to isocaloric intake of carbohydrate only. In this PhD project, protein degradation will be studied during various types of endurance exercise and nutritional states using nitrogen balance technique, and related to recovery of performance. Furthermore, molecular mechanisms for regulation of protein degradation will be addressed.

Principal supervisor, Professor Jørgen Jensen, jorgen.jensen (at) nih.no

Co-supervisor, Bjørn Skålhegg

6. Effects of endurance training during and after puberty

Research environment
The PhD Student will together with master students and laboratory personnel be testing children with different training background. The testing will be conducted in our human physiology and biomechanics laboratories as well as at different schools. The work will include physiological, biomechanical as well as performance testing of children. The methods are routine in the laboratory. The PhD project will take place in an inspiring research environment with other PhD students, postdocs, master students and other students. Training and guidance will take place on an ongoing basis by senior researchers.
Project abstractJV_description
Most children (>90 %) in Norway are involved in organized sport during their childhood. In the sports clubs, the children are exposed to different type of training. Today, there is a lack of knowledge about how the physical training affects the children physiology as well as motor skills before, during and after puberty. At NSSS we have collected data on children engaged in endurance sport and school children in a longitudinal study from age 12 - 15. In this PhD projects, we will follow up these children at age 16-20 as well as recruit new younger children from other sports and study their physiological as well as motor skill development.

Principal supervisor
Professor Jostein Hallén, jostein.hallen (at) nih.no, Direct Phone: +47 2326 2314

7. The importance of anaerobic capacity in orienteering

Research environment
The project relies on skills in exercise physiology in combination with technology. Specifically, the work will include exercise testing, training intervention, physical performance parameters, collection and analysis of biological material, as well as GPS technology for tracking and evaluation of performance. The PhD project will include international collaboration and a period of 4-8 months at another university must be expected.

Project abstractJV_description
Orienteering is an endurance sport that places great demands on physical capacity, especially aerobic capacity. The importance of anaerobic capacity for orienteering performance is, however, poorly understood despite the fact that high lactate values are observed during a competition. The purpose of these projects is to investigate the importance of anaerobic capacity in orienteers and to study the combination of aerobic and anaerobic training models.

Principal supervisor
Head of department, Klavs Madsen, klavs.madsen (at) nih.no; +47 4683 0845

Co-supervisor, assistant professor, Egil Johansen

 Job abstractJV_description

• Complete an independent research project under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent educational activities corresponding to approx. 45 ECTS points.
• Participate in active research environments including a stay with another research team.
• Gain experience of teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project (25% teaching).
• Write a PhD thesis based on your project.

Required qualifications

Applicants should hold:

• A two-year master degree in Sport Sciences or equivalent with the grade B or better. It is the candidates responsibility to document and eventually transform the grade.
• Experience in human studies and experience in scientific writing, i.e. publications in scientific peer reviewed journals, are considered an advantage.

Working conditions

Salary is offered according to the Norwegian State pay scale, employment code 1017

The appointment will be made according to terms applying to civil servants.

The NIH is a member of the Norwegian State Pension Fund.

Working place is Department of Physical Performance at the NIH.

NIH personnel and recruitment policy aims at taking into account the diversity of the Norwegian population to the greatest possible extent. It is an explicit aim to search for age and gender balance and to recruit competent applicants with minority background. Women and persons with minority background are encouraged to apply. Applications will be handled according to the relevant regulations as defined in the Norwegian Open Files Act.

 

Contacts

Interested applicants are advised to contact the academic community in preparing the application.

 

Further details can be obtained by contacting:

• Head of Department, Klavs Madsen, tel. +47 4683 0845

 

Contact administration:

• Maren Retterstøl Olaisen, tel. +47 23 26 20 59 (HR-department)

The position is available for a four-year period.

Application Procedure

The application must be submitted in English and must include the following: 

• A cover letter, stating your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project (max. one page)
• An outline of a project abstractJV_description in the chosen topic (max one page)
• Full CV 
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc including grade transcipts)
• Other information to consider: Publications, if any and relevant references and recommendations

Deadline for applications
The application deadline is 15 th f February 2019. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

The further process

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, all supervisors selects one to three applicants within their given research area for further assessment. This will partly be judged on interviews, so the candidate must expect to be interviewed from the supervisor.  An expert committee is appointed in order to make an assessment of the selected applicants. Selected applicants are called for another interview and a final decision is expected mid March.

Please note that the applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation. 

Questions

For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.
General information about PhD programmes at NIH is available on the website: https://www.nih.no/en/research2/ph.d-program/

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