PhD Student in Data-Driven Approach to Mental Health – DTU Entrepreneurship

DTU, The Technical University of Denmark , Centre for Technology Entrepreneurship invites applicants for a 3-year PhD position on “A data-driven approach to understand stress contagion”, starting on 15 August 2023 (or as soon as possible thereafter). 

The overall goal of this PhD project is to understand the mechanisms of social stress contagion within entrepreneurial settings using a data-driven approach.  

Mental health is as essential for knowledge work in the 21st century as physical health was for physical labour in the past. For entrepreneurs in particular, creativity, ingenuity, planning, analysis, and other executive functions are often the cognitive cornerstones of breakthrough value creation. Even though entrepreneurs seem to cope well with stress over shorter periods, chronic stress can lead to depressions and burnout, co-founder conflict, and a toxic company culture. We see initial evidence that stress and other mental helth problems are contagious among individuals. However, we have not fully understood yet, how and when stress is contagious between people or how it can be prevented. The aim of this PhD project is fill this gap using a data-driven approach. Advances in digital technologies and data analytics have created unparalleled opportunities to assess the impact of stress and stress contagion, and accelerate the ability of science to understand and contribute to improved mental health outcomes. 

Within an experimental approach, you will first aim at identifying the contagion effects of stress through social interactions using physiological data. In a next step, you will assess the magnitude of social stress contagion based on duration, frequency and intensity of interpersonal relationships in venture teams, applying machine learning methods to social media data. The ultimate goal is to build and test a model for continuous early stress detection that will help develop resilience and prevention strategies for stress contagion.  

You will be a member of the Psychology in Entrepreneurship group within the Centre for Technology Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). You will work under the supervision of Associate Professors Carina Lomberg and Lars Alkærsig.  

Responsibilities and qualifications 

Your primary tasks will be to 

• Design and conduct experiments based on physiological data
• Analyse the collected data using state-of-the-art methods
• Write academic papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Participate in international conferences and workshops
• Disseminate research results and teach as part of the overall PhD education
• Design, implement and thoroughly test model-based machine learning approaches for assessing the magnitude of stress contagion
• Collaborate with researchers within an interdisciplinary environment 

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree. 

Salary and appointment terms 

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years. 

Starting date is 15 August 2023 (or according to mutual agreement). The position is a full-time position. 

You can read more about career paths at DTU here . 

Further information

For more information, please contact Carina Lomberg calom@dtu.dk  

Application procedure 

To apply, please read the full job advertisement, by clicking the 'Apply' button