Postdoc position in DNA Nanotechnology

The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, iNANO at Aarhus University, Denmark, invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the group of Prof. Kurt V. Gothelf starting April 15th, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter. The position will be available for a 2-year period. 

The position is funded by an Interdisciplinary Synergy Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation for the project BioNWire. The project aims at self-assembly of a bio-nano-wire device on a microelectronic chip for single-molecule biosensing and conductance analysis and is a collaboration between research groups at Harvard University, The Danish Technical University, and Aarhus University.

Job description

The candidate should have a PhD degree within the broad field of biochemical sciences and have experimental experience in DNA nanotechnology. The project concerns the functionalization of nanowires with DNA and their immobilization in DNA nanostructures. The structures will be characterized by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It will also involve bioconjugation of DNA to various proteins and small molecules. Therefore, the candidate should preferably also have experience in bioconjugation or organic chemistry. The project involves collaboration with a PhD student who will be hired for the project. It also includes collaboration with the group of Professor William Shih at Harvard University and the solid-state physics group of Professor Peter Bøggild at DTU. Therefore, good communication skills are also a requirement. The candidate is expected to collaborate with and co-supervise bachelor and master students.

The Gothelf Lab

The lab, headed by Professor Kurt Gothelf, combines DNA Nanotechnology with organic chemistry and specializes in structural DNA nanotechnology, bioconjugation, nucleic acid chemistry and therapeutics, and in biosensors. The group currently consists of 4 post-docs, 5 PhD students, 5 master students, more younger students, and 1 technician. The laboratories, located at iNANO, are modern and very well equipped with AFM, DNA synthesizers, MS-TOF, UV-Vis, Nanodrop, several HPLCs, fluorimeter, and more. We have access to NMR, TEM, and Cryo-EM. The lab collaborates closely with molecular biologists at iNANO.  The group is international, with a majority of Danish students and the common language at all meetings is English. It is an important value for the Gothelf Lab to have a friendly and, mentally as well as physically, safe working environment for all members of the group. 

The iNANO Centre

The place of work is the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (

iNANO

), Gustav Wieds Vej 14,  8000 Aarhus, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments. The iNANO center involves research groups at several departments at Aarhus University. iNANO has one of the largest collections of instruments for nanocharacterization in Northern Europe.

Contact information

For further information, please contact Professor Kurt Vesterager Gothelf.

Phone: +45 60 20 27 25 

Email: 

[email protected]
Deadline 

Applications must be received no later than February 26th, 2024. 

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Natural Sciences refers to the

Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities .

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here . Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here .

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here .

At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website , you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.