Research Assistant and Ph.D Fellowship in Forensic Medicine

The Department of Forensic Medicine, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen is offering a position as research assistant with a 6-month duration starting at the 1st of December 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter, followed by a Ph.D.- scholarship.


Project description

The overall aim of the Ph.D. project is to study risks for injuries and health consequences when using newly implemented CEW in comparison to other modalities of police force such as baton, OC-spray and service firearms. The outcome of injuries will be compared to contextual and person specific characteristics such as age, sex and preexisting health.



The objective of the project is to increase the knowledge about injuries and health consequences for subjects in situations of conflicts in which the police assess it necessary to use a modality of force. The focus is on the use of CEW, but to place such health consequences in the correct context other use of force modalities will also be studied.

This PhD project will focus on the following aims:

1. Assess the risk for lesions and health effects that may arise both directly, but also long-term, after exposure to CEW, and following any other police use of force modalities such as baton, OC-spray, service firearms, police canines and unarmed force.
2. Assess situations in which police use different means of force such as CEW, baton, and OC-spray, and study the risk of injuries, to both police officers and to subjects considering the context of the situation.
3. Gain general knowledge on the sociodemographic characteristics of the group of subjects exposed to police use of force.

The project will be a retrospective study using data collected from questionnaires and observations made during the trial phase with CEW in the Danish Police as well as obtained from registers kept by the Police and by Statistics Denmark. We will also include information from hospital charts containing information on health outcomes after an individual has been exposed to a CEW.

The information will be kept in databases that will be analyzed using epidemiological methods.



Supervisors:

Associate professor, Deputy Chief Forensic Pathologist, Ph.D. Carl Johan Wingren, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen

Professor, Chief Forensic Pathologist, Ph.D. Jytte Banner, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen



Description of scientific environment

The section of forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine carries out medico-legal autopsies and clinical forensic examinations including age estimations for the judiciary and other public authorities. Based on this casework the section has a lot of developmental and scientific work within the fields of applied health research and disease and accident prevention. The section of Forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine is one of three sections at the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Copenhagen) carrying out research and teaching assignments according to ordinary university rules. The section has a wide range of collaboration with other fields – e.g., Police, Danish Patient Safety Authority, clinical departments and other university departments.

The section has about 80 employees, including 1 professor, 3 associate professors, forensic doctors, administrative staff, 8 PhD students, laboratory technicians, forensic technicians, forensic nurses, forensic anthropologist, and several thesis students. The department is equipped with modern instruments, including an in-house CT-scanner Siemens and IT facilities. The section is accredited to ISO 17020.

Job description
Initially, there will be a position as a research assistant for 6 months, 1st of December 2024 to 31 of May 2025, continued by a position as a Ph.D. student for 3-years, 1st June 2025 to 31st of May 2028, provided that the PhD protocol is completed and enrollment is accepted no later than1st June 2025.

Your key task during your employment at SUND are:

• Prepare research protocols, draft agreements for research data and research collaborations, and prepare data extractions from registers.
• Acceptance of Ph.D. protocol at the Ph.D. School, at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health Science.
• Manage and carry through your research project.
• To ascertain the data collection, establish a research database, and perform data registration and analyses.
• Attend Ph.D. courses.
• Write scientific articles and your PhD thesis.
• Teach and disseminate your research.
• Work constructively with your supervisor, co- Ph.D. students and other co-workers to maintain a collegial working environment.

Formal requirements of applicants
We are seeking highly motivated applicants with an MSc degree or similar in health sciences, with experience in forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine.

• Fluency in written and oral Danish.
• Good competencies in oral and written English.
• Excellent skills in teamworking.
• A flexible mindset in approach to tasks and to daily duties.

It will be highly advantageous to have one or more of the following qualifications:

• An understanding of Conducted Electrical Weapons.
• Experience with documentation and interpretation of lesions in a legal context.
• Hands-on experience with Forensic Pathology
• Experience with scientific work.
• Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Working experience in a multidisciplinary environment

Terms of employment
The employment as a research assistant and Ph.D fellow is full time (37 working hours per week in average). The research assistant position is for 6 months followed by a Ph.D. scholarship for 3 years. The start date for the research assistant position is the 1st of December 2024, or after agreement, directly followed by the Ph.D. scholarship period.

The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a Ph.D. 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 Ph.D. study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the Ph.D. 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 30,716 DKK/Roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.



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

General information about Ph.D. 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 Ph.D. 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: 24th of September 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: 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 wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.