PhD fellowship in molecular neuroscience at Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

We are offering a three-year PhD fellowship in molecular neuroscience commencing February 1, 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project description
Recent advances in genomic sequencing have identified inherited or de novo single amino acid variations in genes encoding ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) and have recently emerged as a cause for NDDs. The iGluRs mediate the rapid excitatory neurotransmission in the central nervous system by allowing the influx of ions, particularly sodium and calcium, upon binding to glutamate. They consist of several subtypes, including NMDA receptors and AMPA receptors, each contributing to distinct aspects of synaptic transmission and plasticity. The PhD project focuses on investigating human iGluR mutations as cause of an emerging neurodevelopmental disorder denoted GRI-disorder. This disorder is characterized by intellectual disability (ID), motor and verbal impairment, epilepsy, and behavioral difficulties. Specifically, the project will use various biochemical, cellular and electrophysiological techniques to investigate how patient mutations in AMPA receptors affect receptor function and neuronal expression. Also, strategies for rescue pharmacology of loss- and gain-of-function effects will be explored. The main techniques required for the project are patch-clamp electrophysiology in recombinant as well as neuronal cell models. The project is embedded within a project group that include clinical geneticists and collaborators at University of Aarhus, University of Montana, and University College London.

Principal supervisor
Associate Professor Anders Skov Kristensen, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Our group and research
The project will be conducted in the group of Anders Skov Kristensen at Dept. of Drug Design and Pharmacology and includes planned research stays with national and international collaborators. The Skov Kristensen group’s scientific focus areas are molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission by studying neurotransmitter receptors and transporters’ function, structure, regulation, and pharmacology. These proteins are central players in synaptic signaling by being responsible for neurotransmitter signal initiation and termination in synapses, the sites of nerve cell communication. Our laboratory’s experimental approach and expertise include biophysical methods such as voltage-clamp electrophysiology, fluorometry, and fluorescent imaging combined with molecular biology, biochemistry, and protein chemistry. Our overarching aim is to advance the basic understanding of i) how the single receptors and transporters function at the molecular level and ii) how interactions with experimental or existing drugs modulate their functions. In addition, we collaborate with medicinal chemistry groups in-house and externally in design and development of new CNS pharmacological tools.

Our department
Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology is committed to research-based teaching and interdisciplinary research that supports the development and understanding of chemical and pharmacological properties of drugs and drug targets. We work as part of a dynamic academic community of research, education and innovation within the Pharmaceutical Sciences bridging Health Sciences and Life Sciences.

Information about the Department can be found at https://drug.ku.dk/

Job description
The key elements of a PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences are:

• Carry out 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, preferably abroad
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teaching of undergraduate students in pharmaceutical sciences
• Submit 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., molecular biology, biochemistry, molecular medicine, or neuroscience. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years). Experience with electrophysiology, neuronal cell culturing, recombinant expression using viral vectors or transient transfection, and DNA cloning and mutagenesis is considered advantageous, but not required.

Other important criteria are:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience
• Previous publications
• The grade point average achieved

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.

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 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.

Application procedure
Your application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking “Apply now” below and 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. Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used

4. Publication list (if possible)

5. Other information to consider: References and recommendations (if possible)

The deadline for applications is 29 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.

The applicant 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 within 2 weeks of the application deadline.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

Questions
For further information, applicants may contact the principal supervisor Anders Skov Kristensen, e-mail: [email protected], phone: + 45 3533 6505 or PhD coordinator Marianne W. Jørgensen, e-mail: [email protected], phone: +45 3533 6449.

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/

For more information on working and living in Denmark visit http://ism.ku.dk (International staff mobility) and https://www.workindenmark.dk

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