PhD fellowship in Metabolite Receptology, SUNCR1 and Liver Pathology

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Metabolite Receptology, SUNCR1 and Liver Pathology commencing 1 January 2023 or after agreement.

About us
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research’s vision is to strengthen interdisciplinary research that transforms our basic understanding of the mechanisms that underlie metabolic health and disease, and to accelerate this knowledge toward new prevention and treatment strategies. We were established in 2010 and in 2017, we moved into new laboratories, offices, and meeting rooms in the Maersk Tower www.maersktower.ku.dk .

The Center has around 260 employees who work in an international, highly collaborative research environment across a range of biomedical disciplines. You can read more about us here: www.cbmr.ku.dk .

The Group
The aim of the Schwartz Group is to characterize and understand how signaling metabolites and their specific GPCR sensors interact with hormonal and neuronal mechanisms to control endocrine and metabolic functions as the basis for developing novel means to prevent and treat obesity and diabetes and related diseases. More information about the group can be found here.

Project description
We are seeking an enthusiastic, passionate PhD fellow to investigate the role of metabolite receptors - in particular the succinate receptor SUCNR1 - in hepatic response to metabolic stress and how this is a balance between protective repair and damaging inflammation. A special focus will be on characterizing the development of hepatic crown-like structures and their role in these processes. The project will involve a number of in vivo animal experiments and analysis of both murine and human tissue using various methods including state of the art histological methodologies involving different forms of spatial transcriptomic analysis combined with single cell transcriptomics analysis. The PhD project will be integrated in a portfolio of similar projects dealing with the role of metabolite receptors in repair, remodeling, and inflammation in other tissues a well as in cancer development.     

Principal supervisor is Professor Thue W. Schwartz, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, E-mail: [email protected]

Start: 1 January 2023 or after agreement

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
• Participate in active research environments including a stay at another research team
• Write a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project
• Investigate immune cell infiltration and polarization in liver during the metabolic dysfunction
• Exploring the role of SUCNR1 in pathology progression and hepatic crown-like structure formation
• Analyze immune cell architecture of hepatic crow-like structures using HiPlex RNAscope
• Make molecular interpretation of data and communicate the results both nationally and internationally
• Working both individually and together with collaborators across multiple scientific fields focused on improving our molecular understanding of immune cells and their role in metabolic disfunction.

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

• Must have a master degree in Human Biology, Molecular Biomedicine or equivalent
• Expertise within GPCRs is a must and extensive experience with metabolic stress liver diseases preferable
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD program including hands-on experience with histology, IHC, RNAscope technology, tissue clarity, microscopy and image analysis
• Hands-on experience with western blotting, RT-qPCR, etc.
• Practical skills in performing of animal experiments
• FELASA ABD Certificate for in vivo mouse work
• Ability and enthusiasm to learn new methods and techniques
• Good communication skills in English, both oral and written (Danish is also preferred)
• Highly ambitious and self-driven
• Strong work ethics and team player mentality
• Previously demonstrated a capacity for excellence, either during master’s degree or publications

The preferred applicant will possess an excellent academic track record and be highly motivated to perform science to extract novel findings of importance to SUCNR1 activation in immune responses and metabolic disfunction. We are particularly interested in candidates already familiar with the metabolism field, especially nutrient sensing and metabolic receptology.

Place of employment
The place of employment is the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories, bioinformatics and statistic guidance, and access to big data from multiple cohorts.

Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years. The starting date is 1 January 2023, or after agreement.

It 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 Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 28,400 DKK /approx. 3,818 EUR (October 2022-level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application
Your application in English should include:

• Letter of application addressing the requirements (max. one page).
• CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
• 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.
  Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used
• Publication list (if possible)
• Other information to consider: References and recommendations (if possible)

Please submit your application by clicking on “Apply Now” below. Only online applications will be accepted.

Application deadline:  3 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 can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant 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 wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates 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.