PhD fellowship in translational cardiology

A PhD fellow position is available in the Cardiac Physiology Laboratory at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Very motivated and committed candidates with experience in cardiovascular research and biomedicine are invited to apply. The employment as PhD fellow is full time and for 3 years. The position is fully funded and is conditioned upon the applicant’s successful enrollment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.



Place of employment and our group

The place of employment is at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We are an interdisciplinary research team of ambitious, friendly, and happy scientists at both pre- and post-doctoral level. Currently the team includes 2 full professors, 2 assistant professors, 5 postdocs, 4 PhD students as well as several scholar, bachelor, and master students. We have a large collaborative international and national network, which nurtures the group’s talent and the impact of our research. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment.



Our research

Our primary research focus is on cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. We aim to elucidate cardiac electrophysiology and mechanics in health and disease with a specific focus on heart imaging and high-resolution electrophysiological investigations. We intend to reveal and understand how disease states influence the electrophysiological and mechanical functions of the hearts. Our goal is to incorporate ex vivo findings in a whole-organ context of animal models to improvements in human patient care.



The project

Heart diseases are a major cause of death, disability, and societal costs world-wide. Our current interventional treatments for heart failure and heart valve disease do not improve the symptoms in many patients, suggesting that we do not possess a satisfactory understanding of the disease mechanisms. This project intends to progress patient care, by expanding mechanistic insights and develop a tool to aid clinical decision-making for patients with heart valve disease and/or heart failure. This is done by in-vivo and ex-vivo experiments in large animal models and patient investigations.



Supervision

Principle supervisor is Professor Thomas Jespersen, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Primary co-supervisor is post.doc Lisa Gottlieb, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.



Start

1st of January 2025, or soon thereafter



Duration

3 years as a PhD student



Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD student are to:

• Plan, execute and evaluate independent research under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses or equivalent education corresponding to 30 ECTS points.
• Collaborate with other scientists in the group in a forthcoming manner.
• Teach pre-graduate students.
• Disseminate your research orally and in writing, including writing scientific articles.
• Write a PhD thesis on the ground of your project.

We offer:

• Extensive training in the following techniques: in-vivo and ex-vivo electrophysiology, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computer tomography imaging.
• Supervision in investigations involving large animal hearts and human patients.
• Attentive, personal, and goal-orientated supervision in each step of the scientific process.

Key criteria for the assessment of candidates

We are looking for an exceptional candidate who:

• is driven by curiosity and desire to know more about the biomedical aspects of heart valve disease and heart failure.
• can show a great ability to collaborate, and contribute to a dynamic, strong, and inclusive working environment.
• is willing to undertake international research visits (secondments).
• has experience in biomedical research (considered an advantage).
• is flexible in terms of working hours and load.
• Professional working proficiency in English.

Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (minimum two years).



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 1st of January 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.



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

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

For specific questions relating to the PhD project, please contact dr. Lisa Gottlieb [email protected].



Application and assessment procedure

Your online application including all attachments in PDF format must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking ‘APPLY NOW’ below.

Please include:

• Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
• Curriculum vitae focused on the assessment criteria outlined above. Include information about your education, laboratory experience, language skills, and other skills relevant for the position.
• 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.
• Publication list (if possible)
• Contact information on two-three references

Application deadline

Application deadline is 22nd of October 2024, time 23:59 CET.

We will neither consider material received after the deadline, nor applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.



The further process

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the 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 will be able 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.



Interviews are expected to take place between 4th-15th of November 2024.



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