Job Opening: Associate Professor within Soft Matter and Polymer Synthesis related to Life Sciences

A permanent position is available at the Department of Chemistry for an Associate Professor in the subject area of Soft Matter and Polymer synthesis related to Life Sciences.

Soft Matter constitutes materials and nanostructures composed of synthetic building blocks such as polymers, surfactants and colloids, as well as biological materials such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. Self-assembly, or supra-molecular assembly is a key design principle where a balance between an array of interactions such as electrostatic, hydrophobic, specific hydrogen bonding etc., control the structure formation from atomic to nano- to macroscopic level. Combining biological and synthetic building blocks to obtain hybrid materials is attractive for creating materials with biological function. Such bio-inspired materials are important to tailor biocompatibility and interfaces to, e.g., tune cell-interactions, promote cell growth in a controlled manner, inhibit bacteria growth, and regulate adsorption processes in, e.g., anti-fouling applications, tissue engineering and carriers for drug delivery.

Development of these materials requires expertise and knowledge in a wide range of synthetic chemistry related to soft matter, such as polymer synthesis. The University of Oslo therefore seeks a candidate with a strong background in relevant fields with a keen interest to pursue research along these lines. It is essential that the candidate complements and interacts tightly with colleagues within structural biology and physical chemistry at the newly established Departmental Section ‘Bio3-Chemical Life Sciences’ to help creating a solid fundament for research activities within soft matter and bio-inspired materials. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to peptides/protein-based materials, membranes, and polymers for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, bio-mimicking and tissue materials, targeted drug-delivery applications, functional hydrogels, functionalized surfaces, bio-orthogonal chemistry, peptidomimetics, biomineralization etc.

The candidate will actively participate in planning study programs, teaching, supervision and examinations-related tasks at all levels, from Bachelor’s to PhD level, and maintain the educational quality of the teaching programs the selected candidate participates in or is given responsibility for. Administrative tasks in accordance with the applicable provisions. It is further essential that the candidate has the ability and a proven track record of obtaining external research grants.