17 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Position 1: Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbial Ecology
We are seeking a colleague with expertise in microbial ecology and bioinformatics. The position is vacant for 1 year from October 2025, but dependent on funding with potential of two additional years of extension.

The successful candidate will be part of the Danish Center for Hadal Research, HADAL, a center of excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation. The candidate will work within the Nordcee research group at the Department.

We are looking for a candidate who has a proven record of leveraging state-of-the-art bioinformatic methods to explore the specificities of microbial life in hadal sediments, both in terms of novel taxonomic diversity and functional potential. You will be expected to contribute to ongoing research projects as well as developing independent research questions, with relevant areas including biogeography, from large geographic scales to fine-scale genetic variability, archaeal diversity and microbial lineages involved in anaerobic diagenesis. You will also be involved in the supervision of PhD, Master and Bachelor students, and assist in teaching activities.

You hold a PhD in microbiology/microbial ecology or similar, and you have experience in bioinformatic methods for analyzing environmental sequencing data (metagenomes, amplicons, long-reads) for microbial ecology studies and finally, you have capacity for handling large amounts of data and their suitable storage and dissemination according to FAIR principles.

Position 2: Postdoc in Microbial Responses to Deoxygenation and Climate Variability
We are seeking a colleague with expertise in using metagenomic datasets, direct rate measurements and high-resolution profiling of nutrients, oxygen and carbonate system parameters. The position is vacant for 2 years from September 2025.

The successful candidate will be part of the Nordcee research group at the Department of Biology.

We are looking for a candidate to work with investigation of microbial diversity, nitrogen/carbon metabolism, and phototroph dynamics in marine oxygen minimum zones using multi-omics approaches (metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics) and flow cytometry (FACS). You are expected to analyze large datasets with advanced statistics and bioinformatics tools and to collaborate on high-resolution profiling of environmental parameters to link microbial communities to climate-driven biogeochemical shifts. 

You hold a PhD in Marine Biology, Microbial Ecology, or related fields, have a strong background in omics data analysis (R, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, functional annotation) and hands-on expertise in molecular biology techniques including experience with biogeochemical techniques (e.g., Isotope tracer, rate measurements) and flow cytometry (FACS) for phytoplankton/bacterial sorting and quantification.

Position 3: Postdoc in Biochemical Processes and Climate Change
We are looking for a candidate with experience in biogeochemical processes in coastal and temperate regions with emphasis on climate change scenarios. The position is vacant for up to 3 years from October 2025 with the possibility of extension, and part of the employment may be on reduced working hours.

The successful candidate will be part of the Nordcee research group at the Department of Biology and collaborate with the SDU Climate Cluster.

We are looking for a candidate to work with biogeochemical processes in coastal areas, and in the transition between land and sea, investigating nitrogen- and carbon cycling and mechanisms that promote hypoxic zones at the bottom of Danish and German coastal areas. You will also work on linking physical, biological and biogeochemical processes to climate change scenarios. Experience with publicly available data, data processing, and statistical modelling is an advantage. You will be expected to analyze large time series datasets to identify patterns and provide insights into future climate projections as well as communicate findings with various non-academic actors.

Position 4: Postdoc in Microbial Ecophysiology and Functional Genomics
We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with experience in ecophysiology and omics, particularly whole genome sequencing and comparative expression studies. This is a 1-year position starting in October 2025.

The successful candidate will join the Nordcee research group at the Department of Biology where we investigate the role of microorganisms in marine and climate-relevant biogeochemical processes.

We are looking for a candidate with a PhD in Marine Microbiology, or a related field, and a strong background in functional genomics. Expertise in anaerobic microbial physiology, multi-omics approaches (e.g. metagenomics, metatranscriptomics), and molecular biology is essential. Experience with interspecies interactions, either in artificial lab consortia or in naturally co-dependent communities, is highly valued.

The position requires proficiency in bioinformatics and statistical analysis of large-scale omics datasets. We are particularly interested in candidates who can contribute to understanding how environmental changes – such as increased input of geoconductors – shape microbial community structure and function (especially interspecies interactions) in the context of climate-related shifts in biogeochemical cycles.

Position 5: Postdoc in Marine Restoration
We are seeking a colleague with expertise in marine habitat restoration, quantification of ecosystem services and strong knowledge on identification of stressor-thresholds that negatively affects habitat restoration outcomes. The position is for up to 4 years.

The candidate will be working in the Marine Ecology Group and will be contributing to several ongoing projects that involve marine habitat restoration, environmental assessments and citizens science, and you are expected to have experience with seagrass, biogenic reef or boulder reef restoration including knowledge about site-selection, restoration method development, monitoring and quantification of ecosystem services. Skills in GIS and remote sensing (drones or side-scan sonar) are an advantage.

You hold a PhD in Marine Biology related fields, and you have experience within marine ecology and marine restoration. Candidates with experience with GIS, project management, mapping and monitoring using drones or side-scan sonar as well as freediving and SCUBA-diving will be preferred.

You will lead a research project with the aim to understand the molecular mechanism that allows the transition zone (TZ), a conserved protein complex with unknown molecular structure, to maintain a specific lipid and protein composition in cilia.

Cilia are evolutionary conserved organelles that protrude from the surface of eukaryotic cells to facilitate motility and sensory perception. Cilia dysfunctions result in rare human diseases known as ciliopathies that affects multiple organs leading to clinical manifestations such as blindness, deafness, obesity, mental retardation, renal and breathing difficulties. To date there are 35 reported ciliopathies caused by mutations in more than 200 genes. Most of these genes encode proteins that assemble the TZ, an evolutionary conserved multi-molecular superstructure that lies at the base of cilia and allows selective diffusion and transport of proteins and lipids between cytosol and cilia by an unknown gating mechanism.

By employing an integrative approach involving protein structure prediction by AlphaFold 3 combined with crosslinking/mass-spectrometry and single particle cryogenic electron microscopy on native or recombinant TZ complexes, you are expected to determine the molecular super-structure of TZ. You will monitor the gating mechanism of TZ in cellular models such as RPE1 or cultured dopaminergic neurons by immunofluorescence microscopy. You will also build and test TZ-derived molecular prosthetics with the aim of restoring the function of faulty genes that causes ciliopathies.

The project uses Denmark’s distinctively rich registry data, exploring a range of life outcomes throughout early development on the full Danish population (including on crucial subsets such as adoptees). We seek to use quantitative behavior genetic methods to explore the association between neighborhood characteristics and various developmental outcomes. Outcomes we will explore include education, conduct problems, and mental health, though expertise in these areas is not required for applicants. 

The position will involve primary responsibility for data organization and statistical analysis, as well as co-authorship of scientific articles. Teaching is not required as part of this position. Daily work will be conducted in English, and familiarity with Danish is not necessary.

Dr. Sahu’s lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying aging, with particular emphasis on Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP). Their research explores how SASP contributes to aging-related diseases and aims to develop therapeutic strategies to mitigate its harmful effects while preserving its beneficial functions. The lab also works on cellular rejuvenation through partial reprogramming techniques to reverse age-related decline in health, focusing on improving healthspan and organ function in aging models.

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute is internationally recognized in digital technologies. The institute is further growing its Center for Industrial Software research and education at its campus in Sønderborg, with a vision of creating world-class knowledge in valuable collaboration with industry, providing a unique opportunity to be part of the center. The center is collaborating closely with other centers on the campus, including the Centre for Industrial Electronics and the Centre for Industrial Mechanics, as well as with the industry, which counts world-leading companies in growing fields such as e-mobility, automation, climate solutions, and energy efficiency. Learn more about our institute at https://www.sdu.dk/en/mmmi and the center at https://www.sdu.dk/cis. The Centre is autonomous but will collaborate closely with the Institute’s Software Engineering section.

In our work, we value teamwork, professional diligence, enthusiasm for technology, and the drive to adopt new skills and extended responsibilities. We offer an open, international team with flexible work organization and support for individual development. The Centre is involved in a variety of national and European projects and features a strong network of academic and industrial partners. We solve challenging research problems from real applications and implement novel software solutions together with end users such as Universal Robots, Terma, LEGO, Danfoss, and Novo Nordisk.

The Postdoc position aims to focus on securing automotive systems with a focus on battery management systems BMS architectures against cyber threats, ensuring system safety, reliability, and performance through advanced security techniques. You will work on a European-funded project.

The Postdoc position is set up in the context of an industrial focused project named EUDP eRotaryActuator with several partners including Danfoss Power Solutions, SDU Centre for Industrial Electronics and SDU Centre for Industrial Mechanics.

The Postdoc candidate will investigate methods and tools for real-time embedded systems and functional safety concepts in the context of an advanced electric actuator. The candidate will evaluate existing research and commercial solutions, propose new methods, and potentially develop domain-specific models and toolkits to address complex real-time control challenges under safety constraints.

The Postdoccandidate will be responsible to:

• Conduct literature and technology reviews focusing on real-time embedded control and functional safety concepts,
• Identify gaps and propose innovative methodologies for controller design and implementation,
• Lead the development of domain-specific software models and tools to support the new actuator architecture,
• Design experiments, collect data, and validate ideas in collaboration with the broader engineering team.

This position is part of the LEO Foundation-funded research project titled “Exploring Autoimmune Skin Diseases with Immune-Integrated 3D Skin Models”, led by Prof. Jonathan Brewer (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SDU),  Dr. Mike Barnkob and Prof. Torben Barington (Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital – OUH).

The overarching goal of this ambitious project is to develop cutting-edge, immune-integrated three-dimensional skin models that accurately mimic both healthy human skin and diseased skin affected by Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE). CLE is a challenging autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory skin lesions triggered by complex interactions between immune cells and skin tissue, exacerbated by external stimuli such as UV radiation and mechanical stress. Current understanding and therapeutic strategies are limited due to inadequate human model systems capable of replicating these intricate immunological processes.

The successful candidate will perform experimental research to characterize photovoltaic (PV) materials at the nanoscale using electron beam spectroscopy techniques. Our goal is to acquire an in-depth understanding of the nanoscopic electronic structure and the role of defects in advanced PV materials, aiming to push their efficiency to the ultimate limit.

We welcome candidates with experience in photovoltaics, electron spectroscopy and near-field optics techniques, and light management strategies for solar energy devices.

SOLEN (SDU Climate Cluster, SCC, Elite Centre on Solar Energy Conversion and Storage) is an SCC Elite Centre that brings together 4 SDU faculties located across 4 SDU campuses, and 6 cross-disciplinary SDU research teams, to bring forward new types of sustainable solar energy devices through a holistic and cross-disciplinary research approach. We aim to design, engineer, scale up, implement and assess novel devices for solar energy conversion and storage, which includes thin-film organic solar cells as well as new solutions for green hydrogen and energy storage developed from state-of-the-art roll-to-roll (R2R) thin-film process technologies. The center is headed by Professor Morten Madsen and includes 9 co-principal investigators and many PhDs and postdocs. Read more about the center and its participants at: https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/solen. 

The successful  candidate will develop experimental research performing magneto-optical spectroscopy combined with electronic transport to investigate light-matter interactions in 2D materials. Our goal is to create new phases of matter through the confinement of charges and photons in reduced dimensions.

We welcome candidates with experience in optical spectroscopy, fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures, electronic transport, and near-field optics.

POLIMA is a Center of Excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF) for initially 6 years (2023-28). Professor N. Asger Mortensen is the head of POLIMA, which currently consists of two Associate Professors, two Assistant Professors, a Lab Manager, a Center Administrator, and app 10-15 PhD students, postdocs and visiting scientists. Several POLIMA researchers have attracted prestigious personal grants e.g. VILLLUM Investigator, Sapere Aude and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowships. Read more on POLIMAs website.

Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is seeking a highly motivated postdoc for a three-year position. The position is available from July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The postdoc position is available in the group of Associate Professor Aida Solhøj Hansen, focusing on cellular signaling by extracellular vesicles in inflammation and cancer.

The successful candidate will investigate how extracellular vesicles promote inflammation in psoriasis with a particular focus on T-cell derived extracellular vesicles. The project is funded by the LEO Foundation.

You will lead a research project that focuses on understanding how extracellular vesicles from activated T cells promote inflammation, including investigating the cellular mechanism regulating their secretion. You will employ advanced techniques including spectral flow cytometry, nano flow cytometry, mass spectrometry, and RNA sequencing. The ideal candidate will have a background in molecular medicine or immunology. Experience with flow cytometry and animal models is a prerequisite, while basic understanding of extracellular vesicles will be an advantage. 

The position as a postdoc consists of research, mentoring, professional development, and guidance within the field tumor-immunology and cell therapy. The position focuses on in vivo reprogramming of immune cells using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) constructs against glioblastoma. The position is funded via a Lundbeck Foundation Experiment grant. Ideal start date will be at or around August 01, 2025. 

The ideal candidate has experience with aseptic handling of primary human cells, culture, stimulation and transduction of T cells, and standard molecular biology methods, including cloning. Experience with flow cytometry and animal work is essential. Hands-on experience using cancer models in mice and handling NK cells and/or macrophages will also be appreciated. Knowledge about synthetic biology, CAR/protein engineering and mRNA-transduction is important, but not necessary. Experience with glioblastoma models will be a plus. 

The candidate will be placed within CITCO, at the Department of Clinical Immunology, which consists of several postdocs, PhD students and master students from different countries. We are looking for a candidate who is happy to work in a team and help train and mentor students as part of the project. The work-languages in the group are both Danish and English.

The successful candidate will become part of the SDU UAS Center, located at SDU Campus and in HCA Airport where we have state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor laboratories for drones. You will be part of an interdisciplinary and agile research team with many opportunities for developing your own research. We offer a positive work environment and a close connection to the world-leading robotics community of Odense. We expect the candidate to contribute to ongoing research projects at SDU UAS Center and to eventually acquire their own research funding. The candidate will be conducting teaching in the context of our Master of Science education in Drones and Autonomous Systems, which is part of the Robotics Master of Science education at the University of Southern Denmark.

The postdoc will collect published scientific and historical climate data for Italy and the eastern Mediterranean region between 400-100 BCE and build a synthesis of the changes in temperature and precipitation in the period. The focus is on the connection between Rome’s expansion in the 4^th to 1^st century BCE and the natural climate changes that seems to occur in the same period.