Postdoctor in Natural Science, specialising in Animal Biology

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract scientists and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, all the way into the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals and populations, to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics and combinations of these fields in order to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

The department is placed at three different localities: in Gothenburg Botanical garden, at Medicinareberget in Gothenburg and Kristineberg Marine Research Station. The current position is placed at Medicinareberget. In August, the department moves to the new building, Natrium, located on Medicinareberget.

 

Subject area 
Natural Science, specialising in Animal Biology. 

 

Subject area description 
Globally, millions of fishes are used in laboratories and they are the second most popular model used in regulated procedures in the European Union, with approximately 60,000 used in Sweden annually. While it is common to use anaesthesia during procedures that span the full range of severities including highly invasive surgery, analgesia (pain-relief) is not routinely provided, which is a welfare issue for fish used in research. The project aims to address a key question to improve the welfare of fish in research: how to refine invasive experiments by employing pain-relief?

This project will investigate:


• The impact of a range of pain-relieving drugs on both larval and adult fish to identify which drugs, and at what doses, are effective in providing pain-relief.
• Which drugs prevent pain-related behavioural and physiological responses.
• The effects of these drugs on data collection to assess any confounding effects.
• Pharmacokinetics will assist in determining when to re-administer analgesia and help provide pain management protocols.

This project is a crucial step in refining experiments using fish on a global scale. Employing analgesia during invasive techniques represents a major step forward in improving experimental fish welfare as well as potentially reducing the severity of a large number of procedures.

The postdoc will be situated at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences in the laboratory of Dr Lynne Sneddon. The project involves collaboration with Dr Albin Gräns (SLU); Dr Marco Vindas (Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Prof Svante Winberg (Uppsala); Dr Marco Marcello (Liverpool) and Dr Lars Brautigam (Karolinska Institute). Therefore, the position will involve travel to these laboratories. The project is largely experimental using techniques in fluorescent microscopy, HPLC; stress physiology and animal behavior in a laboratory setting.

 

Duties 
The postdoc will work within Gothenburg and with academic partners in the assessment of drugs used to alleviate pain in fishes. The postdoc will participate in research aimed at refining laboratory experiments using fish, which will be instrumental at developing pain management protocols for a range of species. This employment includes in vivo experimentation with fishes including husbandry of fishes and breeding of zebrafish; live imaging of neural activity using fluorescent microscopy; behavioural and physiological techniques (e.g. PIT tagging, implantation of biologgers); statistical analysis; and use of HPLC to determine drug concentrations as well as writing manuscripts for publication. In addition to travel, the work involves communicating with a multidisciplinary team of researchers in several international research groups. Therefore, it is essential to have demonstrated team skills and proficiencies in both verbal and written English.

 

For more information and application 
Submit your application via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.  

Publications that cannot be attached to the application in digital format should be mailed in two copies to:

Department of Biological and Environmental Science
Att: Dr Lynne U. Sneddon
University of Gothenburg
Box 463
S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden

Applications must be received by: April 24th, 2023

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.