项目介绍

2025年2月4日

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Bioinformatics commencing June 1 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
The successful candidate will join the newly established immunological bioinformatics research group at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center. We are a bioinformatics group (currently 10 members with Master’s students, research assistants, PhD students, and postdocs) working on the development and application of data analysis tools, with a specific (though not exclusive) focus on single cell data, such as single cell cytometry (flow, mass, and barcode-based cytometry), single cell sequencing (tag-based and full transcript), and spatial transcriptomics. We collaborate with immunology researchers in the department and beyond, as well as clinicians on prognostics, diagnostics, and therapeutics for various diseases, including cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Project description
Are you interested in becoming a bioinformatics researcher working with state-of-the-art methods and data? Would you like to do research that will deepen our understanding of the cross-talk between the immune system and the gut microbiome, and contribute to the development of novel treatments for IBD? Then this is the PhD project for you.

Crosstalk between immune cells and environmental signals from our diet and intestinal bacteria is essential for intestinal health. Alterations in this crosstalk can rewire immune cell function, contributing to diseases such as IBD. There are few effective therapies for IBD and many IBD patients do not respond to therapy or loose therapeutic responses over time, highlighting the need for new directions and approaches to disease management and treatment. 

In this project, you will be working with suspension and spatial single cell transcriptomics data from the gut, as well as pre-clinical data from model organisms. The overall aim is to stratify the immune dysregulations leading to IBD. In doing so, you will be applying workflows with existing analysis algorithms and inventing new ones when necessary.

Principal supervisor is Professor Lars Rønn Olsen, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, lronn@sund.ku.dk
Start:     June 1, 2025 
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. bioinformatics. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
The following requirements must be met by the successful candidate:
•    Strong background in biology (e.g. through a relevant degree programme or relevant work experience)
•    Good programming skills

The following are desirable, but not required:
•    Experience working with data analysis in R (the research group you will be joining works primarily in R)
•    Experience working with RNA sequencing data
•    Experience working with, or working knowledge of single cell RNA sequencing data
•    Basic understanding of immunology

Other important criteria are:
•    The grade point average achieved
•    Previous publications
•    Relevant work experience
•    Other professional activities
•    A curious mind-set with a strong interest in single cell data analysis
•    English language skills

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the 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. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and computational infrastructure.

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 June 1, 2025.
The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s success¬ful 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 during an initial three-month employment as a research assistant. 
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 agree¬ment 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 4,100 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: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/ 
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). In this letter, please highlight a research project you have contributed to (brief description, less than half a page), including your specific role, and what got you excited about the project. Please indicate your earliest possible start date.
2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position. Please clearly highlight grade averages for BS and MA programmes (including min/max at your institution), relevant courses taken, programming skills, data types you have worked with (e.g. RNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, etc.), and relevant work experience (if any)
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
4. Publication list (if applicable)

Application deadline:  March 1, 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: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/ 

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 March as physical meetings, if possible, or online.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background. 
 Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.