PhD fellowship in Mucosal Immunology at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology

We are offering a 1 year as research assistant following a 3 years as PhD fellowship in Mucosal Immunology commencing Jan 1st 2024 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD student to join the Mucosal Immunology Group headed by Professor William Agace at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Copenhagen University.

The successful candidate will join a superb team of international researchers within the newly established NovoNordisk Foundation challenge grant-funded ‘Center for Intestinal Immune Regulation (CIIR)’. CIIR comprises of 4 collaborating teams (Agace, CU; K. McCoy, Calgary (Canada); F. Bendtsen, Hvidovre hospital; L. Rønn-Larsen, DTU) whose combined expertise in mucosal immunology, gastroenterology, microbiota-host interactions, bioinformatics and state-of-the-art animal models aims to identify intestinal immune-stromal interactions important in intestinal homeostasis and in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In joining you will be part of a highly vibrant and cross-disciplinary team of researchers at the international forefront of mucosal immunology research.

Project description

Your project aims to assess the role of stromal cell subsets in regulating immune responses in the intestine in health and disease. For this you will utilize various transgenic mouse and disease models in combination with single cell RNA-seq, CITE-seq, and spatial proteomics/transcriptomics analysis as well as in vitro co-culture techniques to study intestinal stromal-immune interactions intestinal homeostasis and disease. The project is multi-disciplinary and will involve close collaborations with participating bioinformaticians as well as researchers analyzing human intestinal immune compartments in health and IBD.

Principal supervisor is Professor William Agace, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Email. [email protected]. Tel +46705221466

Start: Date

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student + 1 year as research assistant for enrolment

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.

• Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have a master’s degree in molecular biology with specialization in Medical Biology.

The applicant should have performed their master practical project in the field of mucosal Immunology and have a strong educational background in Immunology, as well as some training in bioinformatics. (basic R programming).

The applicant should have practical experience in breeding and maintaining mice colonies as well as working with mice, including flow cytometry-based assessment if intestinal immune populations and the intestinal microbiota.

Other important criteria are:

• Experience in PCR, qPCR and ELISA
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in Mucosal Immunology
• Proficiency in English

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and all state-of-the-art equipment required for the project.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 1+3 years. The start date is Jan 1st 2024 or after agreement.

The 3 year employment as a Phd fellow is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant during an initial 1-year employment as a research assistant.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree­ment between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 27,800 DKK/Roughly 3,700 EUR (October 2021 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: Deadline for applications: 3 October 2023. 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk