3 PhD positions for Medical Doctors in the International PhD programme EMERALD

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
The “International PhD Programme for Medical Doctors”, EMERALD
3 positions at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen
Application deadline 28th August 2022, 5 pm Central European Time

ARE YOU:

• A medical doctor with up to 4 years of research experience?
• Eager to explore why diseases arise and to contribute to development of novel treatment?
• Driven to pursue a PhD and develop your scientific competences?

15 PhD positions are available for this call across seven top European biomedical research centres: BRIC (Copenhagen), CRG (Barcelona), NKI (Amsterdam), IGC (Lisbon) MDC (Berlin), VIM (Lueven), IC (Paris). Three of the positions are at BRIC.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The “International PhD Programme for Medical Doctors”, EMERALD, trains and nurtures excellent physician-scientists with the goal to bridge the gap between the clinic and the lab. The programme recruit medical doctors to carry out a PhD in cutting-edge research in one of seven recruiting European centres of excellence in life sciences and biomedicine. The recruited medical doctors will acquire unique scientific, technical, and digital skills and knowledge to advance their career at the frontier of medicine and research, with the final goal to improve patients care and tackling global health challenges.

Biomedical research is advancing at a high speed in the world. In the last decades, we have seen major developments resulting in significantly better treatment and healthcare. Addressing the increased need for innovative solutions in medicine requires more than ever the rise of the unique professional profile of physician-scientists, combining research with clinical care, understanding patients´ needs and driving research forward to address them.

ABOUT THE POSITIONS
The EMERALD fellows will benefit from attractive salaries, an international, stimulating and creative environment with expert supervision, advanced training, tailored career development and mentoring programmes, and access to high-end technologies and facilities. They will have the opportunity to build valuable international networks with multiple actors in academia, hospitals, patients´ organizations and the private sector. For the appointments at UCPH, fellows will be employed for six months as a research assistant and 36-month as a PhD fellow.

ABOUT BRIC
BRIC is a top research centre and our researchers have made seminal contributions in the field of epigenetics, cancer biology, stem cell biology, neurobiology and bioinformatics. The centre is located in modern buildings with state-of-the art facilities and counts 250 employees and more than 60% international researchers. The daily language is English. The centre has an open and collaborative scientific environment and a student association offering network and social activities. BRIC is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The faculty’s Graduate School has 1600 PhD students, enrolled into 22 specialized PhD programs. The EMERALD fellows will be enrolled into the programme Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (MoMeD), coordinated by BRIC. Please visit https://bric.ku.dk/ for more information on centre.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

Required educational level: Candidates must have obtained a medical degree, which allows them to enrol in an official Doctoral programme in accordance with the national regulations and institutional requirements in force at each recruiting research centre. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment at UCPH/BRIC, 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.

Years of research experience: At the date of the call deadline, candidates must be in the first four years of their research career (exceptions due to career break will be considered) and have not been awarded a PhD degree.

Mobility requirements: Candidates can be of any nationality but must undertake transnational mobility according to the H2020 MSCA programme´s rules. During the 3 years before the date of the call deadline, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) for more than 12 months in the country of the selected recruiting centre for which they apply.

Required languages: English at excellent level

SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process includes these steps of evaluation: Eligibility check, remote evaluation by expert panels, online interviews with selection committee, host interviews and final selection. The selection will be merit-based, using weighed criteria in three defined areas:

• Candidate curriculum
• Knowledge and scientific potential
• Motivation
• English level

HOW TO APPLY
The application deadline is 28th August 2022, at 5 pm Central European Time.

Applicationsare accepted exclusively online through the central online application system through the EMERALD webpage: www.emerald-mdphd.eu .

The application, in English, must include the following:

• Personal details, in line with the European Data Protection Law
• Contacts of two referees
• Academic record information, including copy of diploma and detailed transcripts of records
• Scientific interest
• Initial research experience
• List of publications
• Honours, scholarships, prizes, awards
• Motivation letter
• Preferred host laboratories and research areas
• Interruptions in education, if any
• Career breaks, if any
• Signed eligibility statement

CONTACT
For more information about the process, guidelines or the application system, please contact EMERALD Programme manager, David Brena: [email protected]

Terms of employment and salary
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions offer attractive salary and working conditions. For the positions at BRIC in Copenhagen, the salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State and according to the rules and regulations laid down by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie S. Curie COFUND programme. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 28,365.85 DKK (approx. 3,810.09 EUR) plus pension as a PhD fellow.

The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities of December 11, 2019.

The appointment at BRIC will be for six months as a research assistant and 36-month as a PhD fellow. It is conditioned upon the candidates’ successful enrolment in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science’s PhD school. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the candidate and supervisor during the research assistant employment.  

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the University’s rules on achieving the degree.  

Acknowledgement: Emerald has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034290

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.