Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (SUND), University of Copenhagen

The Department of Pharmacy is offering a three-year PhD fellowship in the Center for Biopharmaceuticals and Biobarriers in Drug Delivery (BioDelivery). The PhD fellowship is in collaboration with an industrial partner. The successful applicant will be a member of the Drug Delivery and Biophysics of Biopharmaceuticals group and will have the opportunities for cross-disciplinary research in collaboration with internal and external collaborators.

The fellowships are available from 1 March 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project description

The demand for peptide and protein therapeutics that can be administered without injection is increasing. However, achieving sufficient systemic bioavailability through oral delivery of peptides and proteins is extremely difficult due to their susceptibility to degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and generally low permeability. Novel oral drug delivery systems thus may include functional excipients, such as permeability enhancers, co-formulated with the peptide/protein in the dosage form.

This interdisciplinary research project aims to investigate and understand the physico-chemical properties of the peptides to enable a rational formulation approach selection and supporting the choice and combination of excipients and manufacturing methods. Thus, the project will design and investigate effects of formulations with absorption enhancing functionality in terms of their effect on bioavailability enhancement and safety inpreclinical models.

Principal supervisor
Professor Hanne Mørck Nielsen, Department of Pharmacy
E-mail: [xxxxx] direct phone: +[xxxxx]

Our group and research

The BioDelivery Center is embedded in the Drug Delivery and Biophysics of Biopharmaceuticals group comprising four senior scientists, more than 10 junior researchers, as wells as several undergraduate and visiting students at Department of Pharmacy, we focus on the design and development of optimal drug delivery systems with a focus on biopharmaceuticals, specifically peptides and proteins, used for treatment of e.g. metabolic diseases or infections. Our research spans from biophysical analysis to biological membrane interactions in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo and design of advanced drug delivery systems, to assessment of the efficacy in cell culture models and animals. We aim to gain and explore detailed, fundamental, and mechanistic understanding of the challenges associated with biopharmaceuticals when administered via injectable and non-injectable routes.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. In the BioDelivery Center (BioDelivery.ku.dk) we offer creative and stimulating working conditions and a dynamic and international research environment. The mission of Department of Pharmacy is to advance the pharmaceutical sciences by performing drug-related research and research-based teaching in topics including pharmaceutical technology and formulation, drug delivery, advanced drug analysis, and clinical and social pharmacy.

Information about the Department can be found at [xxxxx]

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences are to:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Obtain experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Participate in the undergraduate teaching of students in pharmaceutical sciences
• Participate in national and international conferences and scientific meetings
• Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your research project

Required qualifications
As an applicant you must have:

• Qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, biomedicine, or the like prior to the starting date
• Fluency in English and excellent communication skills
• The ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment

Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Preferred qualifications
We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a background in pharmaceutical sciences, engineering, biochemistry, biomedicine, or the like. Experience in drug delivery of biopharmaceuticals, solid dosage forms, as well as with animal experiments will be preferred. Other relevant competencies are experience in quantitative analytical techniques as well as a critical sense for data interpretation. The candidate must be able to work independently but will interact with a multidisciplinary project group involved in many aspects of studying and evaluating drug delivery. Extensive training in the relevant disciplines will be provided.

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience
• Publications
• The grade point average achieved
• Other professional activities
• Language skills
• The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills

Terms of employment

The employment as PhD fellow is full time (average 37 hours per week) and for 3 years.

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 30,716 DKK/Roughly 4,095 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.

It 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 [xxxxx] achieving the degree.

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

Application procedure

Your application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking “Apply now” below and must include the following documents in PDF format:

• Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
• CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
• Diploma and transcripts of records: 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 (including grade transcripts for bachelor´s and master´s degrees). If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor will do.
• Publication list (if possible)
• Other information to consider: References and recommendations (if possible)

Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used.

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.

The application deadline is 18th November 2024, 23.59 pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline.

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.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

You can read about the recruitment process at [xxxxx]

Interviews are expected to be held in weeks 50-51.

Questions

For further information, applicants may contact the principal supervisor Hanne Mørck Nielsen, e-mail: [xxxxx] direct phone: +[xxxxx] or PhD coordinator Marianne W. Jørgensen, e-mail: [xxxxx] direct phone: +[xxxxx].

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: [xxxxx]

For more information on working and living in Denmark visit [xxxxx] staff mobility) and [xxxxx]

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

Kilde: [xxxxx]