1-2 PhD fellowships in Immunology at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center

1-2 PhD fellowships in Immunology at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center, Department of Immunology and Microbiology

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

University of Copenhagen

We are offering 1-2 PhD fellowships in Immunology commencing 15 January 2023 or as soon as possible.

Our group and research
The Coquet group is dedicated to understanding the basic functions of T helper cells in immunological disorders including allergies, autoimmune diseases and cancer. The group uses cutting-edge techniques including single RNA-Sequencing, gene-targeted mouse strains, human tissues from various disease settings and multiparameter flow cytometry to probe how T helper cells differentiate and elucidate factors that may prevent or exacerbate their differentiation. A particular focus over the last few years has been to understand how environmental factors including pollutants or microbes may impact on the quality of the T helper cell response and how these may impact on the incidence of allergic disorders.  We are also increasingly interested in understanding the clonal nature of B and T cell responses and leveraging clone information for antigen discovery.

Project description

The PhD fellows will investigate the phenotype of T cells in several conditions including cancer, nasal polyposis and atopic dermatitis using a combination of single cell RNA-Sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and flow cytometry. Thus, the students are expected to learn how to prepare cDNA libraries from patient material, confocal microscopy, and several data analysis techniques. The students will also perform validation experiments in mouse models of disease (including models of cancer, atopic dermatitis and asthma) and will become competent in mouse handling and experimentation. The group will be supported by close clinical contacts in the BIOSKIN program, which has been initiated at the centre in the past year. The students will develop a deep understanding of the ethical implications of working with mice and human samples. 

Supervision: For more information regarding the research group and supervision of the PhD study, please contact [email protected] .

Start:                 15 January 2023 or as soon as possible

Duration:          3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Key tasks for the PhD students at SUND:

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

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in immunology, cancer biology and allergy
• Language skills

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories on the 12th floor of the Mærsk Tower and access to state-of-the-art core facilities for flow cytometry, single cell sequencing, microscopy, animal facilities etc.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The start date is 15 January 2023 or after agreement.

The employment 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 formulated by the applicant.

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 agree­ment 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 27,800 DKK/Roughly 3,700 EUR (October 2021 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowships, please contact the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center, [email protected] .

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)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

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 possible)

Application deadline: 13 October 2022, 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: https://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.

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.