Professor of Autophagy

The Department of Biomedicine at Faculty of Health at Aarhus University invites applications for a position as Professor in the field of autophagy as per 1 December 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is a permanent full-time position.

The Department of Biomedicine prioritises diversity and a good work environment, as this is a prerequisite for groundbreaking research. In a dynamic and international research environment, dedicated employees are looking to generate new knowledge within biomedical research areas such as infection and inflammation, membranes, neuroscience and personalised medicine. The Department of Biomedicine provides research-based teaching of the highest quality and is responsible for a large part of the medical degree programme. Academic staff contribute to the teaching.

English is the preferred language in the laboratory, at meetings and at seminars. The department employs approx. 500 people from all over the world, and they make use of the department’s modern laboratory-, core- and animal facilities.

The Department of Biomedicine focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration with business and industry, and numerous researchers from the department have established companies to develop new medicinal treatments founded in strong scientific basic research. You can read more about the department here and about the faculty here .

The new Professor will need to have an interest in the research area of autophagy. Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic pathway highly conserved among eukaryotes. It is characterized by the sequestration of the structures destined for destruction by large double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes and their delivery into lysosome for turnover.

This basic cellular process plays a key role in the adaptation to starvation, development and cell differentiation, lifespan extension, immunity and programmed cell death. As a result, defects or impairments in autophagy lead to a wide variety of pathological conditions, including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and muscular diseases, and specific malignancies. Importantly, it has been shown that modulation of autophagy can delay the onset or the progression of devastating illnesses, such as a specific neurodegenerative disorder (e.g., Alzeimher’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s), muscular diseases and cancers.

The new Professor has to be an expert in the investigation of the molecular mechanism of autophagy and/or in the study of one or more physiological functions of this key cellular pathway.

Your job responsibilities
As Professor of Autophagy, you will have joint responsibility for the development of the department’s research and teaching environment, and you will contribute to the implementation of the faculty’s overall research strategy. You are expected to contribute – both independently and in collaboration with others – to the development of the department by leading research of high international quality and contributing to ensuring a high academic and didactic standard in teaching. Qua your excellent collaborative skills and a broad academic network, you contribute to the academic development at Aarhus University and to the university’s profile both nationally and internationally.

Your main tasks will consist of:

• Research of high international quality, including publication in top international journals and communicating your research in national and international academic networks.
• Teaching, supervision and examination of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students.
• To contribute to the funding of your own research group with the help of external research funding.
• Supervision of PhD students and contributing to the development of the faculty’s PhD courses.
• Assessment and committee work at Aarhus University.
• Research-based collaboration with private and public-sector stakeholders as well as research-based consultancy.
• Dissemination of your research to the outside world.

You will report to the Head of Department Thomas G. Jensen.

Your competences
You have an excellent track record in Autophagy research, and you have established yourself as a prominent researcher with one or more stays or employments with internationally recognised research institutions. You possess documented solid research and teaching qualifications at a high international level. You have broad international cooperative partnerships and great experience of research partnerships with private and public-sector stakeholders.

You have also a documented ability to attract significant competitive research funding from national and international funding bodies. A focus in cell biology and biochemical approaches is an advantage, as well as the research topics synergistically fit in more than one of the themes at the Department of Biomedicine.

As s person, you are a helpful and motivational leader who inspires other researchers and builds trusting relationships with students, colleagues and partners. As a lecturer you communicate the newest and relevant knowledge in a committed, clear and comprehensible manner. As a supervisor you are competent, inspiring, supportive and responsible.

You are ready to take co-responsibility for the development of the department’s research and education at the highest international level and for ensuring that we maintain a good work environment. You naturally involve yourself in interdisciplinary collaboration at departmental, faculty and university level as well as nationally and internationally.

We expect you to be fluent in oral and written English. International applicants are expected to learn Danish, and Aarhus University arranges Danish teaching.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Professor position, you must meet these academic criteria .

Shortlisting will be used.

Questions about the position
If you have any questions about the position, please contact Head of Department Thomas G. Jensen tel.: (+45) 2778 2805

Your place of work will be the Department of Biomedicine, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 10, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

We expect to conduct interviews April or May 2023.

Terms of employment

• In making the appointment, emphasis will be placed on a high degree of original production at an internal level and experience from teaching at different levels as well as contributions to the development of teaching activities and teaching material, hereby documenting that the applicant has developed the academic discipline from a research and teaching perspective.
• Moreover, there will be an assessment of the applicant’s ability to perform research and teaching management tasks.
• Further information on the appointment procedure can be found in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities .
• The appointment is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
• Remuneration is in accordance with the above, and the Salary agreement catalogue for staff at Health .
• The yearly base salary for a fulltime professor is DKK 782.488,07 (including a position related supplement, a pre-agreed professor supplement and pension (17.1%)). Additional supplement(s) can be negotiated dependent on experience, special qualifications and performance of special functions. Professors have the authority to negotiate pay on their own behalf.
• Researchers recruited from abroad are offered a special researcher tax scheme with a lower tax rate.
• Travel and moving expenses may be covered according to the employee in question and, to a limited extent, the accompanying family.
• Further information on qualification requirements and job description can be found in the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities .

Application
Your application must include the following:

• Motivated application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diploma
• Template for applicant – professor
• A list of publications
• A teaching portfolio. We refer to Guideline on the use of teaching portfolios
• The ten publications stated as the most important in the ‘Template for applicant – professor’ must be submitted
• Strategic research plan, which is part of the ‘Template to applicant – professor’ can be uploaded separately (optional)
• Coauthor statement(s) can be uploaded (optional)
• References/recommendations can be uploaded separately in the e-recruitment system (optional)

We refer to the faculty’s Guidelines for applicants .

The assessment committee may decide to include non-submitted material in its statement. In such cases, you will be informed and obliged to submit material, unless your application is withdrawn.

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.

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.

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

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

Aarhus University
Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/