PhD fellowship in Microglia-specific Sex Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease at Group of Disease Stem Cells Models and Embryology

We are offering a PhD position in Microglia-specific Sex Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease, commencing 1 September 2024, or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
Our group consists of currently 2 Assistant Professors, 3 Postdocs, 6 PhD students and 1 TAP. The main research focus of the group is to investigate brain cell specific pathological mechanisms, implementing induced pluripotent stem cell models, to understand neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. We are an interdisciplinary team with many international members working on various aspects of stem cells biology and disease modelling in humans and animals. More information about the group and research activity can be found here: https://ivh.ku.dk/english/research/pathobiological-sciences/freude-group/

Project description
The project will investigate the connection between risk SNPs and sex in iPSC derived microglia models. Specifically, we propose that the microglia phenotype in AD females is dependent on both the genetic risk SNPs of innate immunity genes and epigenetic erosion of Xi, changes which might have biomarker potential. Furthermore, these sex-specific differences will have divergent effects on compounds targeting inflammation- and mitophagy-related pathways in men and women to modify AD progression. The work will include iPSC culturing and differentiation as well as functional downstream analyses investigating epigenetic mechanisms, gene expression and cellular pathology. The project is funded by the Lundbeck Foundation and in collaboration with reNEW, Rigshospital and the university of California at Irvine, USA.

Principal supervisor isProfessor Kristine Freude, [email protected], phone: 25572261

Start: 01.09.2024

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.

• Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Biology, Biomedicine, Biochemistry, Veterinary Science or similar. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved.

• You are highly experienced in stem cell biology, genetics, and applications of CRISPR/Cas9.
• You have an active interest in stem cell research and neuroscience.
• You have proficient communication and writing skills.
• You can work independently and in teams.
• Your English skills are excellent both written and spoken.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment with modern laboratories in our research facilities.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 1 September 2024, or after agreement.

The employment 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 formulated by the applicant.

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.

Salary, pension, and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 30,700 DKK/Roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor Kristine Freude [email protected].

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 10 May 2024, 23.59pm CET
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized 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.

You find information about the recruitment process at: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants 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 week last two weeks of June 2024.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Info
Ansøgningsfrist: 10-05-2024

Ansættelsesdato: 01-09-2024

Arbejdstid: Fuldtid

Afdeling/Sted: Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences