PhD fellowship in Human Movement Neuroscience at the Department of Neuroscience

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Human Movement Neuroscience commencing 1 January 2024 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
We are a multidisciplinary research group with a strong emphasis on translational neuroscience. We conduct non-invasive electrophysiological and neuroimaging experiments in healthy human volunteers with the aim of elucidating the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying improved performance of movement. We work in close collaboration with neurorehabilitation centers and clinical departments of neurology and neuropediatrics in Denmark and abroad in order to test new ideas and concepts in clinical practice as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is an important aspect of the research group that we aim for diversity and inclusiveness. We have an equal gender representation and we have multiple nationalities and educational backgrounds represented in the group. We continuously recruit students and young researchers to the group through our involvement in the pregraduate and postgraduate education programmes at the University of Copenhagen. This ensures a wide age distribution in the group.

Project description

The project aims to clarify the neural mechanisms underlying visuo-motor learning and adaptation in human gait using non-invasive electrophysiological techniques (e.g., TMS, EEG). Experiments will be conducted in our human gait laboratory and involve neurologically intact adults as well as stroke survivors. The project involves collaboration with the research groups of Andrew Stevenson at Aalborg University and Laurent Bouyer at Lavall University, Quebec, Canada. You should therefore expect to also spend time in Aalborg and Quebec. Costs for traveling and accommodation in relation to this are covered by the grant.

Principal supervisor is Jens Bo Nielsen Department of Neuroscience, [email protected], Direct phone: +45 28 75 74 50

Start: 1 January 2024

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

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 qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Neuroscience, Biology, Medicine, Human Biology. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in human movement neuroscience
• Language skills

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Neuroscience, 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 for gait analysis, EEG and TMS.

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 3 years. The start date is 1 January 2024

The employment 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.

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 28,800 DKK/Roughly 3,800 EUR (April 2023 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: 6 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