Associate Senior University Lecturer in Medical Radiation Physics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Medical Radiation Physics is a subject area where physics and various radiation applications meet biology and medicine. The department of Medical Radiation Physics is engaged in research and education in ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and its use mainly in medical applications. The major areas are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radiation therapy, X-ray physics, and nuclear medicine. The research activities are very clinically oriented and are carried out in close collaboration with medical physicists employed at Region Skåne. The department is responsible for the five-year medical physicist education, which is a vocational education regulated by the National Board of Health and Welfare, and which qualifies for employment as a licensed medical physicist.

The MR physics research group (https://www.msf.lu.se/research/mr-physics-group) is active in the field of medical magnetic resonance, and has its primary focus on development of new techniques for assessment of functional information related to perfusion, diffusion, cortical activation/fMRI and flow. Emerging areas in the group encompass high field-studies using molecular imaging, chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST)", with non-metallic compounds as well as quantitative MRI in the brain and in the musculoskeletal system.

The associate senior lecturer we wish to hire shall both maintain and strengthen the ongoing scientific work in the field of diffusion by building on the successful research accomplished in the field of neuro-imaging, but also by developing new methods (including AI-based approaches that are currently introduced in MRI) for imaging of other organs, such as prostate.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, 6 years, according to chapter 4, section12a of the Higher Education Ordinance, with the opportunity to promotion to senior lecturer.

Job description
Employment as Associate Senior Lecture is a career development position, where the holder is to be given the opportunity to develop his or her independence as a researcher and educator.

The principal duties cover research and education at the undergraduate (first and second cycle) and postgraduate (third cycle) levels. The employment includes teaching equivalent to 10-30% of a full-time, calculated over the entire term of employment.  The proportion between teaching and research can change over time and other duties can be included.

The successful candidate is expected to play a key role in building up active research in diffusion MR. This also involves applying for external funding and developing collaborations with other university units and other governmental organisations involved in this type of research.

The teaching comprises basic (first cycle) and advanced (second cycle) courses in medical radiation physics, and courses at post-graduate (third cycle) level, as well as supervision of MSc and PhD students.

Eligibility   
A person who holds a PhD or has the corresponding research expertise shall be qualified for appointment as an associate senior lecturer. Priority should be given to candidates who have completed their degree or have obtained corresponding expertise no more than five years before the last date for applications. A person who has obtained a PhD or the equivalent expertise earlier may be eligible if there are special grounds.

For this position the qualified applicants must have a doctorate within the field of medical radiation physics with special focus on magnetic resonance imaging.

Additionally, knowledge of Swedish is required since teaching at the medical physicist program is conducted in this language.

For academic staff at Lund University a general qualification requirement is that the applicant must be suited to and have the general ability required to complete the duties of the post well.

Basis of Assessment
The main selection criteria for the position are scientific and pedagogic skills, with an emphasis on scientific skills.

When assessing the scientific skills, the requirements (should be documented) are:

• Doctoral degree in medical radiation physics with focus on magnetic resonance imaging.
• Extensive experience in MR physics, especially diffusion MR research at 3T.
• Research experience relevant to the position achieved after completing the PhD exam, for example, postdoctoral stays.
• Experience and proficiency of MR pulse programming.
• Experience from international research collaborations.
• Very good knowledge of Swedish and English and good communication skills.

It is an advantage if the applicant also has experience in:  

• Applying for and getting external funding.
• Working in a clinical environment, for example, as a licensed medical physicist.
• Collaborating with industry and clinicians.
• Supervising students at advanced and postgraduate levels.
• Planning, developing, and carrying out teaching in medical physics and related subject areas.
• Dissemination of research findings at a local, national and international level.

Particular emphasis will be placed on i) the relevance of the applicant's formulated research plan for the planned projects as well as the applicant's potential to develop and carry out innovative research in diffusion MRI and (ii) the applicant's suitability to, in the long term, teach in different fields of our medical physicist professional education and other related courses.

Personal abilities that are of great importance for the evaluation of scientific and pedagogic skills are:

• Communication and collaboration skills.
• Initiative and independence.
• Leadership
• Interest and ability for teaching.
• Interest and ability for outreach to the general public.

It is important that the application is written in such a way that the described skills are either documented or easily validated.

When making the appointment, consideration will be given to the Lund University Appointment Rules. 

Promotion
An associate senior lecturer is to be promoted, on application, to employment as a senior lecturer on an indefinite-term contract if he or she has the qualifications required for the post and is assessed to be suitable in accordance with the qualification requirements and assessment criteria established by the Faculty of Science. An associate senior lecturer may only apply for promotion once.

Qualification requirements and assessment criteria for promotion to a permanent position as senior lecturer:

• Well documented research expertise that is important for the discipline. The following criteria will be applied:

           - High national and international standing as a researcher 
           - High-quality publications in international research journals.
           - Independent research profile.
           - Qualifications corresponding to those of a reader.
           - Participation in scholarly conferences or workshops.
           - Research funding from national or international funding bodies.

• Well documented teaching expertise. The following criteria will be applied:

           - Good subject knowledge and documented experience of teaching at different levels of higher education.
           - Documented ability to develop and renew courses and teaching methods.
           - Documented ability to lead and organise education.
           - Documented ability to supervise Master´s and PhD students.
           - Five weeks´training in teaching and learning in higher education or the equivalent.

• An ability to interact with wider society and provide public information on current research and development.
  
  
• An ability to work as a leader in higher education, including leading research projects and participating in decision-making bodies at university, faculty or department level.

An application for promotion to a permanent position as senior lecturer is to be submitted to the faculty at the latest 6 months before the appointment as associate senior lecturer ends. The application for promotion is to be judged by the teacher’s appointment board after acquisition of the opinion of at least two experts on the subject.

Design and content of the application
We would recommend you to write your application in English, since it will be assessed by international experts. The application should be formulated according to the Faculty of Science’s instructions for applications for an academic position. Upload the application as pdf-files in the recruitment system.