Research possibilities for the MSCA SEAS postdoctoral research fellow in marine natural product chemistry

The position is connected to the thematic area of chemical ecology and sustainable bioprospecting of deep-sea biomass in the field of marine natural product chemistry.

The position is open to an incoming candidate, see mobility rules.

The successful candidate will be employed at the Department of Chemistry and included in the Jordheim research group on marine natural product chemistry as well as the larger research group Bioresources and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

Information about the supervisor, research group and research possibilities for the fellow is available below. For further details about the research possibilities please contact Associate Professor Monica Jordheim.

The supervisor
Monica Jordheim is a natural product chemist with more than 20 years of experience in extraction, isolation, and structural elucidation of natural products, with a particularly focus on polyphenols and pigments. A key element in Jordheim’s research is the use of high field NMR for accurate quantitative determinations and purity considerations. This is highly important to fully evaluate the application value of isolated natural products. Jordheim has several projects with industrial seaweed partners and a high interest in chemical ecology and interdisciplinary research. Sustainable research on biomass from deep-sea is a thematic area under development. Jordheim has been teaching spectroscopy methods for fifteen years and developed the course Structural elucidation of organic molecules (KJEM235). She is also the head of education at Department of Chemistry and the leader of the chemistry education program.

The research groups
The Jordheim Research group of Marine Natural Product Chemistry is working with different marine materials spanning from marine angiosperms in the coastal zone, to seagrasses, algae, and marine deep-sea biomass. Chemical ecology, biosystematics studies and bioprospecting are among the research topics. In addition to industrial projects, the group works closely with UiB partners as the Centre for Deep Sea Research | University of Bergen (uib.no)and seaweed experts at Department of Biological Sciences (BIO), and cancer researchers at Department of Clinical Science.

Jordheim is also leading one out of four larger research groups at the Department of Chemistry, Bioresources and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, the BPC group. The professors in this group conducts research that addresses challenges related to health through early-stage drug discovery and to the sustainable and novel use of bioresources, by developing and applying analytical and synthetic methods in organic chemistry. The group includes expertise on chromatography, multivariate data analysis, NMR, structural elucidation, medicinal chemistry, and synthesis.

Available infrastructure
The updated instrumentation facilities at Department of Chemistry (UiB) are highly qualified for isolation, purification and identification purposes. They include: ASE-350 extraction instrument, different chromatographic techniques (Sephadex LH-20 and Toyopearl HW-40F column chromatography, preparative HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography), puriFlash® XS (Flash chromatography) instrument and a FCP-C instrument (Fast Centrifugal Partition Chromatography). Analytical HPLC/UHPLC, Low-Resolution and High-Resolution MS (LR-MS and HR-MS), NMR (NNP: 500 MHz, 600 MHz, 850 MHz); performing various one and two-dimensional experiments (1D 1H, DEPT-135, 1H-13C HSQC, 1H-13C HMBC, 1H-13C H2BC, 1H-1H DQF COSY, 1H-13C HSQC-TOCSY, 1H J-RES, 1H-1H TOCSY). Different Gas Chromatographic instruments (GC/MS, GC/FID, GC/TCD/FID), IR instrumentation (FTIR, NIR, FT-NIR, VIS/NIR) and several UV-Visible Spectrophotometers. ICP-MS is available on location (Department of Earth Science).

Research possibilities for the fellow - topical frame
The postdoctoral fellow position is connected to the thematic area of chemical ecology and sustainable bioprospecting of deep-sea biomass. The position is in the field of marine natural product chemistry and includes extraction, isolation and structural elucidation using HPLC, MS and NMR (1D, 2D). The deep-sea environment is potentially vulnerable and a relative unexplored area. Chemical research on the biodiversity of the deep-sea is thus needed to gain more knowledge about its chemical space, ecological processes, and occurrence of novel compounds - potentially inspiring drug development.

Potential UiB groups at other that may offer a co-supervisor (for cross-disciplinary work)
The deep-sea group at Deep-sea biology and seaweed experts at Department of Biological Sciences (BIO), and cancer researchers at Department of Clinical Science.

The full advertisement in Jobbnorge will be available from November 15, 2023, until call deadline January 15, 2024.

Please be aware

• That until November 15, 2023 (official call opening) there might be minor adjustments in the Guide for applicants and the templates needed for applying.
• That the application process is time-demanding and requires a close dialogue with name-given available faculty supervisor or contact who, close to the deadline, must sign a supervisor match declaration if an application is to be eligible.
• That some fields of research, especially within sensitive technology areas, might be enforced by Norwegian and international regulations regarding Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in these regulations might be prohibited from recruitment to UiB.