PhD fellowship in Comprehensive Serological Viral Screening at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology

We are offering a PhD fellowship in immunology and microbiology commencing 6 of January 2025.

Our group and research
The EPITOPE team at Centre for translational Medicine and Parasitology (CMP) has a focus on monoclonal antibodies, epitope-based vaccinology and host pathogen interactions. With the integration of Associate professor Rahma Elmahdi in the team, the focus is now expanding to also explore the role of viral infection in the development of immune-mediated disease (IMD), as well as the long-term impact of infection and infectious outcomes in immune-mediated disease.

A major focus of this work over the coming years will be the use of phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq) techniques to screen IMD patient serum samples for previous viral exposure. This work will leverage Denmark’s unique repository of biological patient samples, to shed light on the role of viral exposure in the development of IMD such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. Both wet lab methods such as phage display and viromics sequencing along with epidemiological techniques such as registry-based cohort study and pharmaco-epidemiological methods will be utilised to undertake inter-disciplinary exploration of the role of viral infections in the onset of IMD.

Project description

The 3-year PhD fellowship will include laboratory-based PhIP-Seq analysis of historic, archived patient serological samples. The project will require both the development of a phage display library and comprehensive serological antibody screening for application in 3- 5 separate studies characterising the virome in IMD patients before and after their disease onset, and exploring the role of IMD outcomes, in those individuals with specific antibody profiles and genetic susceptibility, compared with those without IMD. The ideal candidate should embody academic excellence with wet laboratory experience as well as strong biostatistical skills.

Principal supervisor isDr Rahma Elmahdi, Associate Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, CMP, Department of Immunology and Microbiology. E-mail: [xxxxx] Direct phone number: +[xxxxx]

Start: 6 of January 2025or as soon as possible thereafter

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. a master’s degree in immunology, biology, biostatistics, or similar field. 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 viral infection and autoimmune disease
• Language skills

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Centre for translational Medicine and Parasitology (CMP), 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. Apart from highly well-equipped modern laboratories, the work undertaken is the state-of-the-art for the field. We value enthusiasm and creativity and so foster a diverse and inclusive working environment where your ideas will not only be heard but will shape the future of our research efforts.

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 6 of January 2025.

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 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: [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: 13 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.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 45

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

Kilde: [xxxxx]