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Professor position in pharmacology

Study programs

The Department of Medicine is in charge of four Bachelor curricula requiring 3 years full time study: a Medical Bachelor (BMed) in Human Medicine , and three Science Bachelors (BSc) including those in Biomedical Sciences , in Biochemistry , and in Sport Science and Motor Control . Two years of Bachelor curricula in Pharmaceutical Sciences and in Dental Medicine are also offered.

A joint Master programme (MSc) in Biomedical Science is offered by the Universities of Fribourg and Bern, whereby the corresponding theoretical courses are offered by University of Bern and the practical part (master thesis work) is offered by both Universities..

The Department of Biology offers a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Biology (options in Biochemistry, Developmental & Cell Biology, Ecology & Evolution, and Plant-Microbe Interactions).

The postgraduate education at the Department of Medicine is offered within the framework of a "doctoral school" together with the Universities of Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Bern and Basel that run a joint programme of invited lectures and summer schools for graduate students (the "Troisième Cycle Romand" programme). A special programme for training in neurosciences in collaboration with the University of Bern is also offered.

Administrative stuctures

The Department of Medicine hosts four Units, namely Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology and Sport Sciences located on the same campus. In autumn 2009, an additional Unit of “Clinical Medicine” was created, which will host the new Professor in Pharmacology as well as the other Professors of Clinical Medicine (e.g. the Professors in Cardiology, Pathology, Neurology, Microbiology, etc.).

The Department of Medicine is led by a president who is elected for 2 years amongst the professors of the Department. Major decisions are taken by the Department council, which comprises the teaching staff and student representatives. Units are led according to the same principle.

Research focus

The Department of Medicine’s main research focuses are on three lines of fundamental research: (i) neurosciences, (ii) cardiovascular and metabolic physiology, and (iii) biology of membranes. However, various additional topics such as the role of calcium-binding proteins, renal sodium and calcium transport, motor control, and circadian rhythms are also being studied.

The new Unit of Clinical Medicine will develop lines of translational research of clinical relevance and complementary to the existing fundamental research already being carried out in the Department of Medicine.

Infrastructure

Laboratory and office space are available. There are animal facilities for mice, rats, zebra fishes and monkeys to be shared with colleagues of the Department, however to a limited extent.

Clinical environment

The Hospital of Fribourg (HFR) is an autonomous establishment, governed by public law, comprising six sites and over 600 beds. The main Cantonal Hospital (350 beds) is located in the town of Fribourg and acts as the cantonal centre for all specialized services that are not available at the other hospitals. Two additional hospitals handle patients requiring acute care - the HFR-Riaz and HFR-Tavel. Three further sites are involved in care related to re-education, geriatrics and palliative cases (HFR-Chatel, HFR-Billens & HFR-Meyriez). Cases requiring highly specialized medical treatment are transferred to university hospitals in neighbouring cantons (e.g. CHUV in Lausanne, the Inselspital in Bern).

The activity of the HFR is carried out by more than 2500 collaborators, including 260 medical doctors. The heads of the clinics (consultants) for Medicine, Surgery and Orthopaedics are authorized to bear the title of Professor, obtained in one of the five Swiss university Faculties of Medicine where they carry out scientific activities and teaching.

Financial support

• Set up funding

The new professor will be granted 80’000.– to 150’000.– CHF, according to his/her status, distributed over two years for the acquisition of the equipment required for research. In addition 20’000.– CHF for informatics and 8’000.– CHF for books are available.

Additional funds are available from a pool that is allocated to the new professors of the Unit of Clinical Medicine.

• Running expenses for consumables, teaching material, equipment, books and journals

An annual common budget to purchase equipment, to cover consumables, for informatics and library expenses is available for the Unit of Clinical Medicine, to be shared among the 8 Professors, according to a distribution key already implemented in the Department of Medicine.

• Positions attached to the full professor position

1 position for a post-doctoral assistant 1 position for a Ph.D or M.D. student 1 position for a technician 0.5 position for a secretary

The Professor of Pharmacology will have access, on a competitive basis within the Unit of Clinical Medicine, to a common pool of 6 positions of assistants

As it is the case for most Professors of the Department of Medicine, it is expected that the Professor of Pharmacology will enlarge his/her team of Ph.D students and collaborators by actively seeking external research funds.

Candidates should be MDs and/or PhDs and have a record of successful independent research and experience in the procurement and implementation of externally funded projects. Scientists with thorough research and teaching experiences in pharmacology will be given preference. The exact research topic is open and does not necessarily have to be close to the ones already implemented in the Department of Medicine. The successful candidate is expected to have a prospect for future interactions with some of the research groups within the Department of Medicine who are working in the areas of neuroscience, cardiovascular metabolism and cancer research .

She/He is expected to establish an independently funded research programme and to teach mainly to the 3 ^rd year students in Medicine and Biomedical Science at the Bachelor level. Contributions to other study programmes at the Department of Medicine are welcome.

Candidates ought to master French or German.

The University of Fribourg is bilingual and teaching for students at the Bachelor level is in French or German. Students can choose to take their exams in either language. Master and PhD classes are taught mainly in English. Candidates are expected to have a working knowledge of all three languages or be willing to acquire such knowledge within a few years. They must be able to teach and write in French and/or German as well as in English.

Women are encouraged to apply.

Hard copies of the following documents should be forwarded to the mailing address below:

1. a cover letter mentioning the position for which the candidate is applying (Full Professor or Tenure Track Professor of Pharmacology)
2. a complete curriculum vitae
3. a complete list of publications (highlighting specifically the 5 most important contributions)
4. a detailed record of teaching experience
5. a record of past and present funding
6. a 1-2 page description of the research, which the candidate intends to carry out in Fribourg



Deadline: the applications have to reach the Dean’s office before March 31, 2010

Prof. Titus Jenny
Dean of the Faculty of Sciences
University of Fribourg
Chemin du Musée 8
CH-1700 FRIBOURG
Switzerland

Please send also an electronic version of the application and pdf versions of the 5 most relevant publications to the Deans office to sylvain.debrot(at)unifr.ch .