PhD fellowship in inhaled medicines at Department of Pharmacy

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic PhD candidate interested in working on a project focusing on an advanced inhalation technology for treating respiratory biofilm infections. The candidate should have a strong scientific background in drug delivery, nanomedicines, particle engineering, and ideally have research experience in aerosol formulation development, aerodynamic assessment of fine particles, quantitative analytical methods, and microbiological testing. The successful candidate will be employed in the Department of Pharmacy at University of Copenhagen, and be a member of an interdisciplinary team, consisting of chemists, formulation scientists, microbiologists, and medical scientists. We strive to develop an inhaled antibiotic management for combating respiratory biofilm infections, maximizing the bacteria killing efficacy, and minimizing the development of antibiotic resistance. This is a 36 months position to commence June 1st, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project description

Chronic respiratory biofilm infections are extremely difficult to treat using conventional antibiotics due to typically poor antibiotic management, causing development of antibiotic resistance and tolerance. In this project, we are developing a new inhaled nanomedicine platform capable of destroying biofilms by co-delivery of multi-antimicrobial agents and releasing them on demand in the vicinity of biofilm infections to maximize the bacteria killing efficacy and minimize the development of antibiotic resistance. This project encompasses the synthesis and characterization of novel nanoformulations, as well as their biological evaluation through use of in vitro biofilm model. The knowledge generated in this interdisciplinary project may expedite translation of new inhaled nanomedicines for clinical use.

Principal supervisor
Associate Professor Mingshi Yang, Department of Pharmacy

Start
June 1st, 2024

Duration
3 years as a PhD student

Our group and research

The Department of Pharmacy at University of Copenhagen is a world-leading research institute specialized in pharmaceutics and analytical chemistry. The mission of the department is to advance the pharmaceutical sciences by performing drug-related research and research-based teaching. Our research is interdisciplinary by nature. The research topics include pharmaceutical technology and formulation, drug delivery, advanced drug analysis, and clinical and social pharmacy. We strongly emphasize the further development of our cross-disciplinary collaborations with Danish as well as international research institutions and businesses, including clinical hospital departments, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, and spin-out companies.

More information about the Department can be found at https://pharmacy.ku.dk/

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, preferably abroad
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teaching of undergraduate students in pharmaceutical sciences
• 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. pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering, microbiology. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience
• Previous publications
• The grade point average achieved
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in pharmaceutical sciences and technology
• Proficient communication skills and ability to work both independently and as part of multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent English skills written and spoken
• Other professional activities

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Pharmacy, 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, creative, and stimulating working conditions in 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 to the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences.

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.

The PhD student is expected to be affiliated to the graduate programme in pharmaceutical sciences, Drug Research Academy.

Salary, pension, and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 28,993 DKK/roughly 3,892 EUR (October 2023 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 March 22, 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 authorised 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 in week of April 22, 2024

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, Associate Professor Mingshi Yang, e-mail: [email protected], phone: + 45 3533 6141 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