Department of Pharmacy
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (SUND)
University of Copenhagen
The Department of Pharmacy is offering a three-year PhD fellowship to investigate the use of cubosomes for delivery of host defence peptides through the skin. The PhD project will be carried out within the recently established LEO Foundation Center for Cutaneous Drug Delivery (LFCCDD), which integrates several disciplines, including molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, physical chemistry, peptidomics and pharmaceutics, to perform state-of-the-art research and to create innovative solutions within cutaneous drug delivery of both small and large molecules.
The successful applicant will be a member of the Novel Biological Models group and will have the opportunity for cross-disciplinary research in collaboration with the other sections of the Center as well as external collaborators.
The fellowship is available from the 1st of December 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Project description
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial relapsing inflammatory skin disease affecting 15-30% of children and 2-10% of adults worldwide. The presence of Staphylococcus aureus has been shown to precede flares in AD patients and exacerbate disease state through several immune-mediated mechanisms. In the lesions of these patients, protease activity is aberrant and protease-induced decreased levels of antimicrobial peptides are a popular explanation for the observed increased susceptibility to infection. Therefore, in this project we will investigate the use of host defence peptides (HDPs) as novel drug candidates for AD infections, to target both infection and inflammation. To facilitate skin penetration by these peptides, the use of delivery systems is essential. For that reason, we will optimise the formulation of HDPs in cubosomes and use these to establish a range of in vitro assays suitable for increasing our understanding of the immunological and microbiological consequences of deeper skin penetration by HDPs.
Supervisors
Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Mariena J.A. van der Plas. E-mail: [email protected]
Co-supervisor: Professor Martin Malmsten. E-mail: [email protected]
Your job
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty are to:
- Carry through an independent research project under supervision
- Write scientific manuscripts and the PhD thesis on the grounds of your research project
- Complete PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points
- Obtain experience with teaching and other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
- Participate in all Center activities
- Participate in the undergraduate teaching of students in pharmaceutical sciences
- Participate in national and international conferences and scientific meetings
- Stay at an external research institution, preferably abroad
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual with the following competencies and experience:
Required qualifications
As an applicant you must have:
- Obtained a relevant Master´s degree prior to the starting date
- Fluency in English and excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
- The ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment.
- The ability to travel for performing experiments at collaborators.
Preferred qualifications
The ideal candidate for this project has extensive hands-on experience with cubosome (or other types of nanoparticle) formulation and characterisation, as well as cell culturing assays and antimicrobial assays. Experience with 2D and 3D skin models, histology, microscopy and HPLC is an advantage.
Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
- Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD programme
- Relevant work experience
- Previous publications
- The grade point average achieved
- Other professional activities and achievements
- Language skills
Terms of employment
The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years.
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 to the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences.
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.
The PhD student is expected to be affiliated to the graduate programme in pharmaceutical sciences, Drug Research Academy .
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 DKK 27,594 (approx. 3,679 EUR) (taxable) plus pension (April 2020 level).
Application procedure
Your online application, in English, must be submitted electronically through the job portal of the University of Copenhagen.
Your application must include following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:
- Cover letter (approx. 1 page) describing your background, qualifications, interest and motivation for applying for this position
- Full CV
- Diploma and transcripts of records: Master’s degree diploma (including grade transcripts for bachelor´s and master´s degrees). Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used.
- Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications and relevant certificates
- Names and contact details of references and/or recommendation letters
Deadline for application
22th of September 2021, 23:59 CEST. Please note that only online applications will be accepted.
Applications received later than this date, or which do not live up to the abovementioned requirements, will not be considered.
Post application procedure
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorised 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.
The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.
Interviews are expected to be held in October.
You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/
Questions
For further information, applicants may contact supervisor Mariena van der Plas at [email protected] , or PhD administrator Marianne W. Jørgensen, e-mail: [email protected] , phone: +45 35 33 64 49. Do not send your application directly to any of these email addresses.
For more information on working and living in Denmark visit http://ism.ku.dk (International staff mobility) and https://www.workindenmark.dk
University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.
Similar Positions
-
Ph D Candidate Biopsychosocial Factors In Chronic Skin Conditions, Leiden University, Netherlands, about 5 hours ago
Apply now PhD Candidate Biopsychosocial factors in chronic skin conditions In the Netherlands, over 2.5 million individuals suffer from chronic inflammatory skin diseases (e.g., psoriasis, atopic ...
-
Ph D Position In Discovery Of Novel Biomarkers For Chronic Wound Formation, Empa, Switzerland, about 13 hours ago
Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living....
-
Ph D Student In Chemokine Immunobiology , Uppsala University, Sweden, about 8 hours ago
Published: 2024-03-28 PhD student in chemokine immunobiology - HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN Doctoral Network “B-ACTIVE” These projects, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)-doctoral networ...
-
Fully Funded Epsrc And Rcnde Ph D Scholarship: Real Time Tracking Of Cognitive Load To Assess Human Factors During Inspections , ; Swansea University, United Kingdom, 21 days ago
Funding providers: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and RCNDE Subject areas: Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Learning Project start date: 1 October 2024 (Enrolment op...
-
Ph D On New Microfluidic Designs For Continuous Sweat Analysis Within Textiles, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, about 18 hours ago
Irène Curie Fellowship No Department(s) Mechanical Engineering Reference number V35.7365 Job description Sweat analysis has emerged as a promising avenue for non-invasive monitoring of athlete per...
-
Ph D Fellow In Tumor Biology , UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway, about 4 hours ago
Lars Åke Andersen 15th June 2024 Languages English English English Faculty of Health Sciences PhD Fellow in Tumor Biology Apply for this job See advertisement The position A PhD position has becom...