Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

We are offering two PhD fellowships in experimental brain tumor research and bioinformatics commencing September/October 2024.

Our group and research
The selected candidates will be part of professor, consultant neuropathologist Bjarne Winther Kristensens research group https://bric.ku.dk/research-groups/Research/kristensen-group/ Bjarne Winther Kristensen will be the principal supervisor. A main interest in the group is how the role of the tumor microenvironment influences brain tumor aggressiveness and therapy response and how this change between different types and subtypes of brain tumors. Most of our projects focus on glioblastoma. The PhD fellowships are supported by the Lundbeck Foundation.

Your job
You will join a multi-disciplinary research team that work with both patient tumor tissue, experimental in vitro and in vivo brain tumor models and advanced bioinformatics.

1) The main tasks in the experimental PhD project will be establishment of 3D patient-like brain cancer models to be used for drug testing followed by validation in orthotopic patient-derived models. The candidate is required to have documented experience with cell culturing and different in vitro assays, histology, immunohistochemistry and imaging techniques as well as molecular techniques. Experience in handling iPSC-derived microglia and cerebral organoids is a plus.

2) The main tasks in the bioinformatic PhD project to investigate the tumor microenvironment in histologically distinct glioblastoma samples and correlate these findings with clinical outcomes. The ideal candidate should have a background in biological sciences and have experience in either data analysis of high-plex spatial transcriptomics or single-cell/nuclei RNA sequencing or be proficient in R or python.

Both candidates are required to have documented experience with the area of the PhD project. Previous experience as research assistant in the area is a merit. You should be self-motived and be able to coordinate multiple collaborations and drive the project forward.

Start: 1 September/1 October
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. human biology, neuroimmunology and bioinformatics. 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 brain tumor biology
• Language skills

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Biotech Research and Innovation Center (BRIC), 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 platforms for spatial analysis.

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 September/1 October or after agreement.

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. The monthly salary will be based on the number of years of work experience (seniority) with the possibility to negotiate a salary supplement based on prior experiences and qualifications. Currently, the monthly salary starts at DKK 30,716 (April 2024-level). The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor professor Bjarne Kristensen, email: [email protected]

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 (in English) 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: Friday, July 19 2024, 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.

Interviews will be held between the 19th and 21st of August 2024

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