PhD fellow in single cell biophysics

PhD fellow in single cell biophysics

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science at University of Copenhagen is offering a PhD scholarship in Single cell biophysics commencing 15th  July or as soon as possible thereafter.

Description of the scientific environment
The position is shared between the Group of Assoc. Prof Nikos S. Hatzakis at the Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen and the Group of Prof. Hanne M. Nielsen from the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen. The student is expected to spend equal time in both labs and combine cell studies with quantitative imaging and analysis. 

Project description
The PhD student will be tasked with the development, optimization and use of advanced methodologies for deciphering how permeation enhancers alter the morphology of cells and delivery of biologicals. The project will involve live cell imaging (TIRf confocal microscopy) of the behavior such as distance and expression, of proteins involved in cell junctions. Combined with single particle studies the project aims to decipher the interaction of biologicals with cells and their permeation through the junctions.

The project lies in the interface of pharmaceutical sciences, cell biology, biophysics and nanoscience and requires extensive cell studies, advanced single particle and single cell imaging as well as statistical analysis. The student will aim to quantify diffusion of small molecule pharmaceutics and peptides within cell culture models. During the project, the student is expected to both perform cell studies and advanced single cell measurements, and treat the high-quality, high-volume data and as such will be tasked with developing, assessing and optimizing scripts passed on e.g. python for treatment of large datasets.

The results will be crucial for attaining a fundamental understanding of delivery of biologicals in cells and will be important for applications with industrial partners like Biotech and pharmaceutical companies as well as medical doctors.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor, Nikos S. Hatzakis, Department of Chemistry, [email protected], Direct Phone: 0045 50202951

Co-supervisor is Professor, Hanne M. Nielsen, Department of Pharmacy University of Copenhagen, [email protected], Direct Phone: 0045 35336346

Qualifications
To be eligible for the 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. chemistry, Biochemsitry, Biophysics or Pharmaceutical sciences. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .

Terms of employment
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.

Responsibilities and tasks
The position is available for 3 year and your key tasks as a PhD student at SCIENCE are: 

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other relevant professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in Biophysics cell biology or pharmeceutical science.
• Good language skills
• To stay at an external research institution for a few months, preferably abroad 

Formal requirements
Applicants should hold an MSc degree in pharmacology, physics, nanoscience, or similar fields with great results and excellent English communication skills.

In order to be considered for the position the applicants should have :

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.

Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include: 

Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is 11th April 2022 (year), 23:59 GMT +2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above mentioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read 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 Nikos S. Hatzakis, Department of Chemistry [email protected], Direct Phone: 50202951]. 

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.