PhD fellowship in Bioinformatic analyses of proteins and glycans at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM)

We are offering one PhD fellowship at the Copenhagen Center for Glycomics (CCG) commencing from 15th January 2025 or after agreement.

Our research
Copenhagen Center for Glycomics (CCG) is composed of 7 research groups and hosts about 10 post docs and 10 PhD students in addition to Master students and guest researchers. CCG strives be a leader in glycosciences in pioneering transformation of the field towards wider integration into mainstream cell biology by developing experimental strategies, informatics approaches, and sustainable resources amenable not only to experts. We aim to facilitate discovery of diseases caused by altered glycosylation, develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, and identify new ways to design and produce improved glycoprotein drugs.

CCG is a cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and training Center located on the 10th floor of the new Mærsk Tower science building within the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM). CCG has state-of-the-art facilities for mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, cell engineering, and glycan arrays, and group leaders hold diverse expertise in all areas of glycosciences. Our core valuables include glycoproteome data and bioinformatics tools, validated gene editing tools, glycoengineered cell libraries, and design matrices for recombinant production of glycotherapeutics.

CCG hosts an international seminar series, PhD courses in glycobiology and gene editing, and participates in ICMMs education program. CCG also houses a spin-out (GlycoDisplay ApS) dedicated to developing improved glycoprotein drugs.

The PhD position is available within the Joshi group at CCG at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM) driving research projects related to discovery and dissection of biological functions of protein glycosylation with focus on developing bioinformatics and deep learning methodologies to perform sequence analysis on proteins.

Principal supervisor is Associate professor Hiren Joshi; e-mail: [email protected].

Read more at https://icmm.ku.dk/english/research-groups/joshi-group/.

Start: 15th January 2025 (or after agreement)

Duration: 3 years as a PhD fellow

The PhD fellow will conduct independent research related to the topics above at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM). In addition, the PhD fellow will participate in PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS points, in teaching and dissemination of results. The PhD fellow will furthermore write a PhD thesis based on their research project.

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. Bioinformatics. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Certified copy of original Master 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.

Other important criteria are:

• Experience in machine learning.
• Experience with bioinformatic sequence analysis.
• Strong scientific and analytical skills and experience.
• A curious mind-set with an interest in human biology and diseases.
• Team player with an independent and collaborative mind-set.
• Excellent communication skills in English.

Applicants should be highly organized and motivated to carry out research related to the topics described above. Candidates with prior experience in glycobiology will receive advantaged consideration.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM), University of Copenhagen. ICMM offers a creative and ambitious scientific environment, with many different nationalities represented and aims to produce research with high international impact focusing on the functional cell, its genetic components, and molecular cellular mechanisms in a medical context.

ICMM currently comprises five research programs, three high profile Research Centers as well as several international research groups. The scientists at ICMM are involved in high quality research based undergraduate and graduate teaching programs at the University of Copenhagen.

More information can be found at https://icmm.ku.dk/english/.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week. The positions are fixed-term positions limited to a period of 3 years and the start date is 15th 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 approx. DKK 30,716 / EUR 4,122 (April 2024-level) plus pension contribution.

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.
4. Publication list (if possible).

Application deadline: Tuesday 5 November 2024, 23:59 PM 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.

The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences comprises approximately 7,823 students, 1,886 PhD students and 5,100 employees. The Faculty advances the field of health sciences through its core activities: research, teaching, knowledge sharing and communication. With basic research fields ranging from molecular studies to studies of society, the Faculty contributes to a healthy future through its graduates, research findings and inventions benefitting patients and the community.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.