PhD fellowship in Unraveling the impact of oral diseases, and unique oral microbiome and salivary proteome signatures...

We are offering a PhD fellowship in oral medicine, microbiology and immunology commencing 1 February 2025 or after agreement.

The overall aim of this project is to determine the prevalence of oral diseases and conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of the various oral diseases, their potential interplay and impact on identifying early stages of long-term diabetic complications.

The specific aims of the project are to:

• assess the potential bidirectional association between oral diseases and early stages of complications in the eyes, kidneys and nerves in children and adolescents with T1D
• determine if children and adolescents with T1D and insufficient metabolic control differ from those with sufficient metabolic control in terms of salivary secretion, salivary proteom and oral microbiome signatures and oral diseases
• determine if children and young adults with T1D differ from healthy age- and gender-matched controls in terms salivary gland tissue inflammation, salivary secretion, salivary proteome and microbiome signatures and oral diseases
  

Project description
The project is part of a larger interdisciplinary collaboration, in which children and adolescents with T1D from Eastern Denmark undergo a comprehensive screening program using advanced methods.
There is an increasing recognition of the complex interplay between oral and general health, and this project acknowledges the strength of including evaluation of oral health into the conventional screening program of early signs of retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy.

This project will provide new insights in the interplay between oral and systemic determinants of development of early diabetic complications, which eventually can be useful in identifying subgroups at specific risk of early complications and enhance development of preventive and therapeutic measures to minimize morbidity later in life.

An additional aim is to determine whether the salivary glands are potential targets of autoimmune processes as those seen in the pancreas in type 1 diabetes. The salivary glands may also be targets for vascular and nerve changes and display early signs of microangiopathy and neuropathy. These histopathological changes can contribute to explain occurrence of salivary gland dysfunction and subsequent development of oral diseases and assist in identifying children with type 1 diabetes having specific needs for dental preventive measures and treatment to avoid disease development and complicating the management of type 1 diabetes.

Our group and research
The research team comprises: Professor, DDS, PhD Anne Marie Lynge Pedersen, Section for Oral Biology and Immunopathology, Department of Odontology, University of Copenhagen; Professor, MD, DMSc Jesper Johannesen, Paediatric Department, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev Hospital, who has established the Paediatric Translational T1D research team, and a comprehensive interdisciplinary collaboration, including collaboration with the omics-unit; Professor, DDS, PhD, Dr Odont Daniel Midjord-Belstrøm, Section for Clinical Oral Microbiology, Department of Odontology, University of Copenhagen, who is experienced within the fields of periodontology and oral microbiology and omics-technologies, and Martin Haupt-Jørgensen, research group leader, senior researcher, PhD, Bartholin Institute, Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, who has several years of experience within especially experimental type 1 diabetes research.

Supervision
The project will be carried out under the supervision of:

• Primary supervisor, Professor, DDS, PhD Anne Marie Lynge Pedersen, Section for Oral Biology and Immunopathology, Department of Odontology, University of Copenhagen
• Primary co-supervisor, Professor, MD, DMSc Jesper Johannesen, Paediatric Department, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev Hospital
• Co-supervisor, Professor, DDS, PhD, Dr Odont Daniel Midjord-Belstrøm, Section for Clinical Oral Microbiology, Department of Odontology, University of Copenhagen
• Co-supervisor, Martin Haupt-Jørgensen, research group leader, senior researcher, PhD, Bartholin Institute, Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet
  

Start: 1 February 2025, or after agreement

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences 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 and attending the events arranged by The Graduate programme for Oral Sciences, Forensic Medicine and Bioanthropology (RIO) .
• 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 in Dentistry (DDS) and must document practical skills and theoretical knowledge as a dental professional.

Applicants are expected to have obtained authorization to work independently as a dentist in Denmark and must be able to communicate in Danish, as all patient records are required to be kept in Danish.

Furthermore, knowledge of oral medicine and laboratory skills and experience will be preferred. 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 interdisciplinary research collaboration
• Language skills
  

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Odontology, 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 clinical facilities necessary for conducting the project.

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

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 30,700 DKK/Roughly 4,000 EUR (April 2024 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: [xxxxx]

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: [xxxxx] 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: 27th October 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.

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: [xxxxx]

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: [xxxxx]