PhD scholarship to Develop a New Optical Microscope for Screening Organ-on-Chip Systems at DTU Health Tech

This call is for you, if you have hands-on experience with hardware-software interfacing, data-analysis, optics, and prototyping.

We invite applications for a 3-year PhD fellowship to develop a new optical microscopy technique for imaging organ-on-chip systems. As detailed below, this work shall provide a platform for informing biomedical research and clinical interventions.

You will be part of DTU’s Department of Health Technology and will interface closely with research groups in the Section for Biomimetics, which is characterized by its interdisciplinary research strategy. The Novo Nordisk Foundation supports this PhD fellowship through a grant dedicated to the development of hardware for sub-cellular imaging and fast screening of complex living samples.

As a PhD Fellow, you will contribute to the development of a new type of fluorescence microscope for live-sample imaging of organ-on-chip systems mimicking the intestinal barrier, i.e., 3D printed scaffolds hosting cells native to the intestine. In close collaboration with biologists and image analysts at DTU and internationally, you will optimize this microscope to pursue a deeper understanding of how biopharmaceuticals and other compounds pass from the intestinal lumen to the blood. The successful team effort will provide new insights, which will advance our means to treat disease as well as our general understanding of biological life.

Responsibilities and qualifications
You will play a central role in our mission to develop and apply organ-on-chip technology, i.e., engineered biological structures, which can mimic how real tissue responds to, for example, medical treatment. In the long term, this technology can enable animal-test-free pharmaceutical trials and personalized medicine based on trials in organ-on-chip systems grown from person-specific cells.

Organ-on-chip systems are ‘living’ and also relatively large and complex. Thus, we cannot readily capture details and long-term dynamics in organ-on-chip systems with existing microscopes. To further the development of organ-on-chip systems, we need a tailor-made imaging platform. By pursuing the development of a high-throughput imaging platform for organ-on-chip systems, you will sharpen your skills with hardware and software development at the interface of traditional engineering, optics, biology, and medicine. In this light, we anticipate that your work will position you well as an investigator and future innovator in the biomedical sciences.

You take part in implementing a novel optical microscope. This effort will require a broad skillset spanning optics, hardware-software interfacing, and data analysis. Depending on your training-needs, you will develop relevant skills through training in our collaborators’ labs abroad. Next, you will use the microscope together with DTU-biologists and image analysts to capture how fluorescently labelled biopharmaceuticals travel through the intestinal barrier. During this application-oriented phase of the project, you will be responsible for applying and optimizing your microscope to provide the best images possible. Your ability to drive hardware/software development will be essential. Likewise, your ability to document, present, and publish scientific findings will be central.

Finally, it is important that you are motivated to contribute to the enjoyable and collaborative work environment in DTU’s Department of Health Technology, which has hosted our research group since 2019.

Candidates must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree. Previous training with an emphasis on hardware development (optics), hardware-software interfacing, image analysis, mathematical modelling of optical phenomena and some exposure to fundamental biology/physiology is preferable.

The ideal candidate for the scholarship can:

• Work independently and prioritize tasks with team-success in mind.
• Plan and execute complex hardware implementation, i.e., interface optics, electronics, and software.
• Implement routines for image acquisition, analysis and visualization.
• Describe and simulate ‘ideal’/’expected’ data using mathematical models of, for example, light scattering and light propagation through inhomogeneous media.
• Use software for instrument control, e.g., LabVIEW.
• Use software for data simulation and image analysis, e.g., MATLAB.
• Use software for basic mechanical design, e.g., SOLIDWORKS.
• Work in a clean-room to produce well-defined nanoscale test-structures
• Work constructively in a team of diverse scientists,
• Communicate professionally and fluently in English (also in writing).
• Present insights, progress, and bottlenecks to diverse (non-expert) audiences, including: Local/international collaborators, BSc/MSc students, and the public.
• Mentor BSc/MSc students, who assist your project through their thesis work.
• Enjoy science and adhere to the European code of conduct for research integrity.
• Start work between 1 February 2023 - or soon after.

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

Assessment
The assessment of applicants will be made by: Emil B. Kromann (main advisor).

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years. The starting date is 1 February 2023 (or according to mutual agreement). The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from [[email protected]] Emil B. Kromann, Associate Professor, DTU Health Tech.

You can read more about the DTU Health Tech at www.healthtech.dtu.dk/english.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 22 November 2022 (Danish time) .

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply online", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter. Maximum 1 page)
• Curriculum vitae (Maximum 2 pages)
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale (In addition to official transcripts, please include a single page summarizing all courses taken at BSc and MSc level, and corresponding grades)

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

DTU Health Tech engages in research, education, and innovation base on technical and natural science for the healthcare sector. The Healthcare sector is a globally expanding market with demands for the most advanced technological solutions. DTU Health Tech creates the foundation for companies to develop new and innovative services and products which benefit people and create value for society. DTU Health Tech’s expertise spans from imaging and biosensor techniques, across digital health and biological modelling, to biopharma technologies. The department has a scientific staff of about 210 persons, 140 PhD students and a technical/administrative support staff of about 160 persons, of which a large majority contributes to our research infrastructure and related commercial activities.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,400 students and 5,800 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.
Kilde: Jobnet.dk