Postdoc position in kidney disease and engineering research at reNEW Copenhagen

POSTDOC POSITION 

Professor Melissa Little, incoming Executive Director of reNEW Copenhagen, is looking to establish a research laboratory focused on the use of pluripotent stem cells for modelling kidney disease and using engineering to understand tissue morphogenesis. She is seeking highly motivated and ambitious post-doctoral candidates with strong backgrounds in pluripotent stem cells, developmental biology and bioinformatics.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW has its Hub at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) as well as nodes at UCPH, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Leiden University Medical Center. Researchers within reNEW addresses fundamental questions in stem cell and developmental biology and will pivot research findings to clinical outcomes and products for patients with incurable disorders such as congenital kidney and heart disorders, type 1 diabetes and Parkinsons’ disease.

A postdoctoral position is currently available in the group of Professor Melissa Little at reNEW Copenhagen. Her team will focus on the fundamental processes of morphogenesis during stem cell patterning to kidney tissue in vitro in order to develop novel approaches to disease modelling and tissue engineering. The application of gene-edited stem cells to recapitulate disease phenotypes as accurate models of inherited kidney disease is hoped to drive the development of novel treatments for genetic forms of kidney disease. The application of cellular bioprinting to evaluate the processes regulating morphogenetic patterning in vitro are hoped to both develop more reproducible and high throughput approaches to disease modelling as well as improve the accuracy of morphogenesis within organoid models. To achieve this, the group utilizes human pluripotent stem cells, advanced gene editing, cellular bioprinting, state-of the-art transcriptomic and imaging approaches and bioinformatic data analyses. Starting date for this position is the 1 September 2022, or upon agreement with selected candidates.

Job description:
We are seeking highly motivated and ambitious post-doctoral candidates with a strong background in pluripotent stem cell differentiation, developmental biology, advanced imaging and/or bioinformatics. Applicants must have experience in stem cell culture, advanced molecular biology and confocal imaging. Some understanding of kidney disease and development is desirable.

Qualifications:

Terms of salary, work, and employment :
The employment is planned to start 1 September 2022 or upon agreement with the chosen candidate. The employment is initially for 2 years.

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 35,000 DKK/approx. 4,700 EUR (October 2021 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions, if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions:
For further information contact Professor Melissa Little, [email protected]  

Foreign applicants may find the following links useful: www.ism.ku.dk  (International Staff Mobility) and www.workingconditions.ku.dk .

How to apply
The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY below.

The application must include:

Application deadline: May 29, 2022

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Only applications received in time and consisting of the above listed documents will be considered.

Applications and/or any material received after deadline will not be taken into consideration.

The application will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 284 of 25 April 2008 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Assessment procedure
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointments Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an expert assessment committee. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

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

University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.

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.