Declaration of interest regarding PhD project in Environmental Medicine for the project: Developmental exposure to pyrethroid insecticides; impact on pubertal and neurodevelopment at age 7-12 years of

A PhD position within Environmental Medicine is available at Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Institute of Public Health, SDU, Campus Odense.

The PhD is fully financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and based on data from the Odense Child Cohort.

The Research Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine consists of two research units with a joint responsibility for a laboratory. Together they have a strong background in exposure to environmental chemicals, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacogenetics, pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions, and therapeutic drug monitoring.  

The research area of Environmental Medicine is environmental epidemiology with emphasis on prospective birth cohorts with numerous international collaborators (including the Odense Child Cohort and numerous Faroese cohorts) and the impact of early life exposures to environmental chemicals and their adverse effects on organ functions (e.g., the brain, immune, metabolic, and reproductive system).
Other areas include endocrine disruption, human biomonitoring, analytical chemistry, toxicology, and risk assessment. The department has extensive expertise in analysing environmental chemicals in human samples. 

Short description of the project
Pyrethroid insecticides are widely detectable in urine from the general population, including pregnant women and children. Pyrethroids are neurotoxic and suggested endocrine disruptors with the potential to interfere with thyroid and sex hormone function.
Disturbance of maternal thyroid hormones during pregnancy can affect foetal brain development and interference with sex hormones may alter reproductive development and sexual differentiation of neurodevelopment.

The Odense Child Cohort follows pregnant women and their children and pyrethroid metabolites have been measured in 1200 mothers and 860 children at age 5 years.

This PhD project will investigate the potential impact of pyrethroid exposure in pregnancy and childhood on neurodevelopment at school age and on pubertal development and sex specific behaviour and neurodevelopment at age 9-12 years.
The PhD student will participate in data collection, cleaning and analyses and interpretation as well as writing of scientific papers. In addition, the student will perform practical work tasks within the cohort and assist with the teaching curriculum at the Department.

Qualification

• A relevant higher education degree (e.g., Cand. med., Cand. pharm or Cand. scient. san. Publ.)
• Experience with quantitative research, statistical methods (e.g., in Stata), epidemiological analysis and publication of a scientific paper is an advantage
• Flair for scientific work, including systematic thinking, and good written and oral communication skills in both Danish and English
• Ability to work independently as well as to be part of an interdisciplinary research group
• Teaching skills

For further information about the PhD position contact associate professor, Helle Raun Andersen, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, SDU ([email protected])

Applications must include:
• At letter stating the interest, motivation and qualifications for the project (max. 2 pages) - upload under “Application form”.
• Detailed CV, including personal contact information
• Certified copy of diploma (Master’s degree in a relevant field)

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link "Apply online".

Attached files must be in Adobe PDF or Word format. Each box can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. This also applies to reference letters.

Application deadline: August 15, 2021 and starting date: October 1, 2021, or as shortly as possibly after.

Interview of the candidates will take place in week 33-34.

The candidate will be employed for three months as a research assistant to draft the PhD protocol. Enrolment as a PhD student at the University of Southern Denmark requires approval of the PhD protocol and the candidate of the PhD school and will be a prerequisite for continuation of the position.

Successful candidates will be asked to send an application to the PhD Secretariat, Faculty of Health Sciences, to be enrolled as PhD students.

The PhD programme will be carried out in accordance with Faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities (PhD order)

The terms of employment as a salaried PhD Research Fellow are stated in the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background