Call for postdoctoral fellow in Neurobiology of Sleep through the NORPOD program

We are seeking applicants for a 2.5-year postdoc fellow in Neurobiology of Sleep to join us through NORPOD, a collaborative postdoctoral program of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. The position is primarily based at DANDRITE and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University, Denmark. It will be conducted in collaboration with NCMM, Oslo to reveal synaptic ubiquitin signalling during sleep.

Expected start date and duration of employment
This is a 2.5–year position from October 1st, 2024 or as soon possible.

Job description

• You will be establishing a collaborative EMBL Nordic research project to investigate how synapses use ubiquitin as a signal for protein clearance during sleep.
• You will be working primarily with rodent models for sleep deprivation and sleep monitoring (i.e., in vivo electrophysiology), brain dissection, subcellular fractionation techniques, biochemistry, and proteomics.
• These activities will be in close collaboration with a specialist in sleep electrophysiology and neural decoding, Dr. Charlotte Boccara at NCMM, Norway, through the NORPOD programme. You are expected to have short/long-term stays at the Boccara lab in Oslo to conduct sleep experiments and collect tissues.

Your profile
Applicants should hold a PhD in synapse biology and/or sleep research or similar.

• Experience in animal handling and the use of rodent models for neurobiology is a must (FELASA or equivalent). Prior experiences in sleep research, subcellular biochemistry, proteomics, electrophysiology, and brain microdissection are highly relevant.
• Publications at international peer-reviewed journals
• Demonstrated international mobility
• Collaboration and management/supervision skills
• Communication and language skills in English
• Personal skills in teamwork and laboratory leadership

Selection process:

• The collaborating PIs of the research project will shortlist top candidates.
  We plan for online/on-site interviews with our top candidates in June, 2024
• Top candidates will be invited for an online interview, conducted by an independent selection panel where they will also be given the opportunity to pitch the project plan.
• NORPOD Fellowships will be awarded based on the recommendation of the selection panel.

Who we are
NORPOD is a collaborative postdoctoral program of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. The partnership is a network of four national research centers across the Nordics and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), with complementary research expertise at the forefront of molecular medicine research. With the NORPOD program, the Nordic EMBL Partnership aims to foster the next generation of researchers in molecular medicine by implementing joint postdoctoral research projects to nurture strong competences and research excellence. Our project focuses on synaptic ubiquitin signaling for protein clearance during sleep.

The NORPOD Fellow will be primarily employed at Dr. Chao Sun’s lab at DANDRITE where they will conduct biochemistry and proteomics. In addition, they will spend several short and/or long-term stays at Dr. Charlotte Boccara’s lab at NCMM to do sleep recordings and collect the brain samples required for the research project, as well as foster synergies and advance our goals. Accommodations will be provided in Oslo during their stays at NCMM.

DANDRITE (Danish Research Institute for Translational Neuroscience) is based at Aarhus University, Denmark.
The position is based at DANDRITE group leader, Dr. Chao Sun’s lab (https://www.synaptic-logistics-lab.com/) at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark.

NCMM (Norwegian Centre for Molecular Medicine) is based in Oslo, Norway. The succesful applicant will be affiliated with Dr Boccara’s lab who was just awarded an ERC grant at the Faculty of Medicine (https://boccaralab.com/).

What we offer
The department/centre offers:

• a well-developed research infrastructure (e.g. cutting-edge light and electron microscope, proteomics facility, ultracentrifuges), laboratories and access to shared equipment
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international and industrial collaborators
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a work environment with close working relationships, networking and social activities
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.

Place of work and area of employment
The place of work is Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.

The project requires short/long-term stays at Boccara lab at NCMM, Norway whose frequencies and lengths will depend on the project needs. Accommodations will be provided in Oslo.

Contact information
For further information, please contact: Dr. Chao Sun, [email protected] and Dr. Charlotte Boccara, [email protected]

Deadline
Applications must be received no later than May 31st, 2024.

Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants. Letter of reference
If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration. Formalities and salary range
Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.
Aarhus University
Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/

Department: Neurobiologi/Neurobiology

Deadline: 31 May 2024

Location: Aarhus C Universitetsbyen 81