PhD fellowship in Companion Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

We are offering a PhD fellowship in companion animal surgery commencing May 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our group and research
The PhD Fellow will be employed in the Section for Diagnostic Imaging, Companion Animal Surgery and Clinical Specialities, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Campus (Copenhagen).

The PhD fellow will become part of a group of highly dedicated and enthusiastic surgical researchers and clinicians with a strong network of leading national and international veterinary specialists. Our current research focus is clinically based with a strong focus on orthopaedic disease and aspects of surgical management and recovery postoperatively, but we wish to broaden our focus in the coming years to encompass more soft tissue surgery and minimally invasive approaches.

Project description
Oncologic surgery is key to management of many tumours in companion animals and humans. Visual inspection, palpation during surgery, and clinical knowledge are the primary factors for determining surgical margins and “dose” during oncologic surgery. Ensuring clean margins is thus associated with a degree of subjectivity which may risk underdosing and recurrence or overdosing and attendant morbidity.

The present PhD project will be focused on defining surgical dose in a minimally invasive setting, increasingly important in both veterinary and human surgery. The project is a collaboration with The Danish National Hospital. The phd student will be based at Section for Diagnostic Imaging, and Companion Animal Surgery and Clinical Specialities, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. The successful applicant should expect significant international secondment and collaboration with international veterinary colleagues.

Principal supervisor is Associate professor Michelle Møller Nielsen, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, email: [email protected], Direct Phone: 0045-31147431. Local co-supervisor will be Professor James Miles, email: [email protected].



Start: May 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter

Duration: 3 years

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at the Faculty of Medical Sciences 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 international secondment.
• 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 a master’s degree in veterinary medicine (DVM). The candidate must hold a Danish authorization to practice veterinary medicine in Denmark or be able to obtain this authorization upon admission. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

We are looking for applicants with competencies in the following areas:

• Documented clinical experience from a specialized companion animal clinic/ hospital and experience with after hours on call duty.
• Documented broad experience in diagnostics and therapy/surgery of surgical cases. Applicants who have completed a companion animal internship will be preferred.
• Interest in teaching, with strong pedagogical skills and preferably documented teaching experience

Other important criteria are:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project, including clinical experience with surgical oncology and/or minimally invasive surgery.
• Possible research experience within veterinary surgery, specifically with experience with endoscopic surgery will be preferred
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in developing skills in soft tissue surgery and minimally invasive techniques, as well as research into supporting technologies.
• Ability to communicate with pet owners in Danish/Scandinavian
• The candidate must have a strong overview, be able to independently plan their own tasks in collaboration with colleagues and students, and have experience in clinical practice workflow planning
• Additionally, the candidate should possess good communication skills, be proactive, have strong teamwork abilities, and be comfortable working as part of a team

Place of employment
The place of employment is at Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Frederiksberg Campus, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and a state-of-the-art Companion Animal Hospital.

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 May the 1st 2025, 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 and supervisors in cooperation.

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 29,191.17 DKK/Roughly 3,912.5 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

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: Wednesday 19.02.2025, 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: http://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.

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