Up to 9 fully funded Marie S. Curie PhD positions at the Biotech…

Application deadline March 25th 2023.

Are you:

• Scientifically curious and determined to pursue a PhD degree?
• Eager to understand why diseases arise and how new treatments can be developed?
• Driven to strengthen your scientific creativity and independent thinking?

Up to 9 PhD positions are open in the international Marie S. Curie Doctoral Programme ‘Discovering treatment from biomedical research’ (DISCOVER). The positions are open for talented young researchers with a master’s degree, who want to pursue a PhD degree in biomedical research. The programme is co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101034291.

Why apply to the DISCOVER programme?
DISCOVER offers young researchers a unique opportunity to join an international and interdisciplinary PhD program within biomedicine. DISCOVER offers research training in an international and modern research environment at the university (main research supervision) and formalized collaboration with one of the neighbouring hospitals (clinical co-supervision). The training programme seek to empower all students to fully exploit the potential of their talent. The aim is to nurture scientific creativity and translational abilities, and to provide the groundwork for a career track in academia, the hospital sector or industry. The programme further seeks to empower a new generation of responsible researchers with focus on reducing the environmental footprints of research.

About the programme
DISCOVER will in total recruit 24 fellows over three calls during 2021-2023. The programme offers 36-months fully funded positions, attractive employment and salary conditions with enrolment as PhD student at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH. Each fellow will work with an original biomedical research project in one of BRIC’s laboratories. Clinical co-supervision will ensure to develop the translational potential of the project. An individual career development plan containing research and transferable courses, international research visits, mentoring and career activities, is also a central element. Please visit http://discover.ku.dk/ for more information on the programme.

About BRIC
BRIC is a top international research centre and our researchers have made seminal contributions in the field of epigenetics, cancer biology, stem cell biology, neurobiology and bioinformatics. The centre is located in modern buildings with state-of-the art facilities and counts 250 employees and more than 60% international researchers. The daily language is English. We have an open and collaborative environment and a focus on equality and inclusiveness. A student association offers network and social activities. BRIC is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The faculty’s Graduate School has 22 specialized PhD programmes, and the DISCOVER fellows will be enrolled into the programme for Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (https://momed.ku.dk ). Please visit http://bric.ku.dk/ for more information on centre.

Candidate eligibility

• The programme is open for motivated researchers with a master’s degree and maximum three years of experience since issuing of the degree at the time of application. Applicants with an MD can have up to five years of experience. Prolonged career breaks are taken into account upon documentation (parental leave, illness, military- or civil service).
• Transnational mobility is required, and applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activities (work, study etc.) for more than 12 months in Denmark in the 3 years immediately prior to the call deadline. Further, applicants may not have been employed at UCPH more than three months prior to the application deadline.

Key selection criteria
The selection process includes these steps of evaluation: eligibility check, evaluation of application material, interview with selection committee and host group interviews. The selection will be merit-based, using predefined scoring scales and weighed criteria in three defined areas: Education and track record, Scientific potential and Motivation – see the guide for applicants .

Application procedure
Please carefully read the detailed description of the eligibility criteria and requirements for the application in the guide for applicants found at http://discover.ku.dk . All applications must be received by the application deadline on March 25th 2023. The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLYNOW below. To be eligible, the applicant MUSTuse the provided mandatory templates which can be downloaded on the Discover webpage and submit all the following material:

• Motivation letter/Cover letter
• CV (mandatory template)
• Eligibility declaration and consent (mandatory template)
• List of 2-3 referees (mandatory template)
• Certified copy of original master diploma and transcripts records in the original language, including an Authorized English translation if issued in other language than English*,
• Documentation of English test (if required *)
• Documentation for career breaks (if any)
• Other relevant information for consideration

* If the master’s degree is not completed at time of application, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records and a written statement on the expected completion date from the institution or supervisor is required. The master’s degree needs to be completed so that the diploma is issued no later than start of the fellowship (October 1st, 2023).

* As a prerequisite for a PhD-employment in Denmark, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database at the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s webpage. Please read more in the Guide for Applicants .

** Please see here if you need to upload an English test: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/apply/language/ . If a test is not available at the time of application, it will be required for shortlisted applicants before the selection committee interviews.

LATE OR INCOMPLETEAPPLICATIONS, NOTUSINGTHEPROVIDEDTEMPLATES, WILLNOT BE EVALUATED.

Timeline of call

• Opening of call: January 25th, 2023.
• Application deadline: March 25th, 2023
• Evaluation and selection of candidates: April-May 2023.
• Online interviews with selection committee: May 22-26th 2023.    
• Online host interviews: June 5-16th 2023
• Answers to applicants: End June, early July 2023
• Time for employment: October 1st, 2023

Contact
For more information about the process, guidelines or the application system, please contact DISCOVER Programme manager: Vibeke Petersen, [email protected]

Terms of employment and salary
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions offer attractive salary and working conditions. 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 and according to the rules and regulations laid down by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie S. Curie COFUND programme. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around 28,448.54 (approx. 3,824 EUR) plus pension as a PhD fellow.

The employment as PhD fellow is for 3 years. It is conditioned upon the candidates’ successful enrolment in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science’s PhD school. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the candidate and supervisor during an initial short-term employment of 3 months as a research assistant. The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the University’s rules on achieving the degree.

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.