PhD fellow in low body mass index, health and wellbeing among children in Denmark.

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science at University of Copenhagen is offering a PhD scholarship about the health and wellbeing among children with low body mass index in Denmark commencing 01.02.2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.       

Project description
Low body mass index (BMI) for age and sex is prevalent among children in Denmark. Despite the U-shaped associations between BMI and morbidity in adults and the well-known negative health impacts of underweight among children in low-income countries, low BMI in children is largely overlooked in high-income countries, due to an unequivocal focus on overweight. In this PhD project the primary work task is to analyze observational data from three different datasets: The Danish National Birth Cohort (www.dnbc.dk), the OPUS School Meal Study, and the national register: Children's Database [Den Nationale Børnedatabase] (https://sundhedsdatastyrelsen.dk/da/registre-og-services/om-de-nationale-sundhedsregistre/graviditet-foedsler-og-boern/boernedatabasen ). Epidemiological knowledge and experience are expected in the data analysis phase as well as interpretation of the results, and triangulation of the insight from each of the three data sources. The overall aims of the PhD project are to: 1) investigate the sociodemographic characteristics and childhood development of low BMI among children in Denmark, 2) compare the diet, nutritional status, physical activity, body composition, growth, and health of children with low compared to normal BMI and 3) examine if low BMI is associated with increased risk of eating disorders and other indicators of poor mental health and wellbeing in school-aged children.

Description of the scientific environment
The PhD student will be employed in the Paediatric and International Nutrition section at Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, which is a leading research group within children's nutrition, growth and health (https://nexs.ku.dk/english/research/paediatric-international-nutrition/). When working with the different databases the student will also spend approximately 9 months in Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health (IFSV) and some months at the National Institute of Public Health at University of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen,respectively.

Principal supervisor isAssociate Professor Camilla T. Damsgaard, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports. E-mail: [email protected].
Co-supervisor is Associate Professor Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, Department of Public Health. E-mail: [email protected].

The PhD programme
Depending of your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. in public health, nutrition, medicine or other relevant field. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The terms of employment and salary are in accordance to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme

Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .  

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Human Nutrition or Public Health.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd , “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of at least 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is DKK 6,243.

When you have obtainedtheMSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

• Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme
  (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

Applicants must:

• Hold an MSc degree in public health, nutrition, medicine or other relevant field.
• Have excellent skills in epidemiological data analysis preferably including expertise with analyzing large-scale observational data from survey/cohorts and/or the Danish National registers.
• Be super user of minimum one statistical software (i.e. R, STATA, SAS or SPSS). 
• Have excellent English skills in reading, speaking and writing.
• Have excellent Danishskills (or a related Nordic language) in reading and writing, in in order to understand and work with the Danish questionnaire data.

As criteria for the assessment of your qualifications emphasis will also be laid on previous publications (if any), and relevant work experience.

Job description
The position is available for a 3-year period and your key tasks as a PhD student at SCIENCE are to manage and carry through your research project as described, attend PhD courses, write scientific articles and your PhD thesis, teach and disseminate your research, work for the department and to stay at an external research institution for a few months.

Terms of employment
The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff.

Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State.

The starting salary is currently at a minimum DKK 334.456 (approx. €44,953) including annual supplement (+ pension at a minimum DKK 53,811). Negotiation for salary supplement is possible.

Application Procedure
The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include

• Cover Letter, stating which PhD project you are applying for and detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific PhD project.
• CV
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc)
• Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications (if any)
• 1-3 reference letters (if any) or named reference persons

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

The deadline for applications is Sunday 31st of October 2021, 23:59 GMT +2.

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Interview Committee. Afterwards an assessment committee will be appointed to evaluate the selected applications. The applicants will be notified of the composition of the committee and the final selection of a successful candidate will be made by the Head of Department, based on the recommendations of the assessment committee and the interview committee.

The main criterion for selection will be the research potential of the applicant and the above mentioned skills. The successful candidate will then be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD school of Science. You can read more about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/ .

Questions
For specific information about the PhD scholarship, please contact the principal supervisor Associate Professor Camilla T. Damsgaard, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.
E-mail [email protected], Direct Phone: +45 35 33 22 21.

General information about PhD programmes at SCIENCE is available at https://www.science.ku.dk/phd .

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.