31 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The positions are part of two interdisciplinary research projects:

1. One postdoc with a background in political science and one postdoc with a background in anthropology (or related disciplines) will be affiliated to The Danish Model for Citizen Engagement in the Renewable Energy Transition (DART). The project is financed by the Innovation Fund’s Grand Solutions programme and the positions have a 24-month employment period. Primary workplace will be Department of Political Science (for the political science postdoc) and Department of Anthropology (for the anthropology postdoc).
2. One postdoc with a background in anthropology (or related disciplines) will be affiliated to the project Designing Community Collaboration for Sustainable Energy Parks (DEEP). The project is financed by the Innovation Fund and the position has a 24-month employment period. Primary workplace will be Department of Anthropology.

Your research project must cover the early translational stages T₀ (Disease modelling, Omics studies, Basic Research) -T₁ (Biomarker discovery, Target development, Preclinical development) and should bridge a basic biomedical research environment and a clinical research environment, making the research project interdisciplinary in its nature. The project may also cover early T2 (First in human, phase 1 clinical trials, phase 2 clinical trials, phase 2b clinical trials), but this is not a requirement. 

The Postdoc will be located in the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Sustainability Transitions (EIST) Group which carries out research on multiple analytical levels: from work on innovation and entrepreneurship processes at the (inter- and intra-) organizational level, to research on innovation systems and sustainability transitions in the sociotechnical systems. Group members engage in qualitative and quantitative research, aiming to contribute to theory development within innovation studies, organization and management studies, and sustainability transitions. The group is expanding activities in Sustainability transition studies with multiple positions including this Postdoc position.

Copenhagen Center for Glycomics (CCG) is composed of 5 research groups and hosts about 10 post docs and 15 PhD students in addition to Master students and guest researchers. CCG strives to be a leader in glycosciences in pioneering the 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 the 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, mass photometry, 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 the 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 Centre proposes that the issue of culture-mind relationship lays at the core of many social, political, and medical debates: within cross-cultural psychiatry/psychotherapy, in trauma studies, and in migration and refugee studies. It explores how the human mind and common humanity have been imagined in different cultural, sociopolitical, and disciplinary contexts, examining the assumptions and forces which shaped such definitions. By analysing how different cross-cultural models of the psyche were formulated and critiqued, the Centre’s interdisciplinary team aims to develop a new framework for understanding cross-cultural interventions, which pushes beyond the binary of universalism and cultural relativism in order to arrive at a more nuanced model of interaction between socio-cultural contexts and ideas of the psyche.

The candidate should hold a PhD degree in the field of history, anthropology or medical humanities, with a focus on migration and refugee studies, and have in-depth knowledge of core debates around displacement, refugee experiences and ‘psy’ disciplines and interventions (as well as relevant language proficiency in accordance with the field of expertise). The candidate will conduct primary source research in a select range of archives and libraries, and take part in designing and implementing oral interviews if necessary. Experience with interdisciplinary and collaborative work, as well as with themes connecting migration and indigeneity, will be an asset. The postdoc will be expected to collaborate closely with researchers in clinical settings, and to explore how historical narratives of migration, psychiatry and illness have shaped contemporary discourses.

The project focuses on Iranian diaspora politics in Western Europe by investigating the specific entanglements of the diaspora with homeland, host country and geopolitics. Mapping diasporic entrepreneurs as they relate to each other, to Persian-language digital publics and to the influence of transnational authoritarianism, the project will generate crucial new knowledge of a conflict that increasingly materializes on European soil and therefore is of interest to the broader public, policymakers and societal stakeholders. The project also aspires to contribute an important transnational dimension to Iranian Studies, which – as an Area Study – has traditionally focused mainly on domestic politics. The project thus raises questions such as: How is Iranian politics transnationalized through diasporic entrepreneurs’ activities? And what can the case of Iranian diasporic politics tell us generally about conflict over authoritarian states in a globalized, digitized and media-saturated world? 

Atrial function has been underappreciated in its role in the proper function of ventricles.
We have previously shown that mutations in genes associated with dilated cardiomyopathy are also associated with atrial fibrillation and atrial cardiomyopathy (Ahlberg et al. Nature Comms. 2018, Collins et al, PNAS 2019, Vad et al, JACC: Basic to Transnational Science, 2023).

Thus, we have a keen interest in the development and function of the atrium in health and disease.  We are particularly interested in studying how mutations in cytoskeletal genes of the cardiomyocyte influence the development and the function of the atrium, and how atrial dysfunction affects the structure and the function of the ventricle. The postdoc recruited for this project will work on existing mutants available in the lab, as well as generate new mutant and transgenic zebrafish models.

The project will focus on the application of state-of-the art data science approaches to study the genomics, epidemiology and pathophysiology of AITD, which is one of the most common endocrine conditions worldwide. Having AITD increases the risk for adverse cardiovascular, metabolic, psychological, reproductive conditions as well as thyroid cancer and other immune-mediated diseases, while affecting the quality of life of the patients. We will use a multi-disciplinary and integrative approach combining various data types. The project will (1) define disease co-morbidities and patient profiles in multiple large datasets such as the Danish registries involving longitudinal analyses, and (2) investigate the genomics of AITD and its co-morbidities to more precisely understand the relevant risk factors and biological mechanisms, and hence, offer novel approaches for more personalized healthcare to the patients, most of whom require life-long treatment, as well as to the individuals at risk.

We are looking for a Postdoc in Geophysics with experience in the research of complex systems and/or non-linear dynamics and tipping points in the climate system. The Postdoc will perform a unique combination of laboratory experiment and modeling to challenge our understanding of tipping points in complex natural systems.

It is currently debated whether we can predict with confidence that abrupt and irreversible climate tipping points are approached. Important recent studies claim to do so, but hinge on key theoretical assumptions that allow for the identification of so-called early-warning signals. These assumptions could so far not be verified in the real world or climate models.

It is the aim of this project to do so with a lab experiment representing the much-feared tipping point of a collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The Postdoc will perform lab experiments with a model of the thermohaline circulation where the stability and variability of co-existing circulation states is measured as freshwater and temperature gradients of the model basins are varied, as well as for changing heterogeneity in forcing and geometry. The experiments are guided by simulations with ocean and dynamical systems models.

Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914) stiftede Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek i København i 1897. Projektet har til formål at forske i de socioøkonomiske og kulturpolitiske aspekter, der motiverede bryggeren til at skabe en samling af tidens danske og franske skulptur, herunder en undersøgelse af dens mere ideologiske potentiale. Projektet skal bidrage til kortlægningen af kunstmæcenater og private museumsdannelser omkring 1900.

For at forstå, hvordan Jacobsens danske og franske samling både afspejlede og udfordrede periodens kulturpolitik, lægges der vægt på at besvare følgende spørgsmål: Hvilken samlervirksomhed karakteriserede det voksende industrimæcenat, som Jacobsen var del af, nationalt og internationalt? Og på hvilke måder var interessefelterne kunst, politik og identitet vævet sammen?

We are looking for a candidate with a solid background in Machine Learning and intellectual curiosity in fact-checking, deep-fakes, and/or disinformation. Knowledge in topic modeling, argument mining, visual question answering, and sentiment analysis is a plus. Successful candidates must have demonstrated their ability to publish in top tier venues, such as NeurIPS, ICLR, CVPR, and/or EMNLP. 

GPCRs are membrane proteins that take part in a myriad of physiological processes and are thus involved in numerous pathologies, which makes them the targets of about 36% of all FDA-approved drugs. The project aims to investigate the role of GPCR mechanosensation in tissue-specificity GPCR pharmacology.

The project will be based on high-throughput processing of fluorescence images for the quantitative detection of multiple signaling pathways in single living cells. It will include the establishment of novel assays for the detection of mechanosensation at the subcellular level.

The overall goal of the project is to develop a hybrid token-pixel language models. Realizing this goal includes designing and implementing mixed-tokenization multilingual language models, training small-scale and large-scale models, and developing techniques effective joint processing.

The position is funded by the European Union Horizon Europe TrustLLM project, in which Assistant Professor Desmond Elliott is a co-investigator. The project team includes a consortium of researchers across Europe, and, locally, the co-investigator, a postdoctoral researcher, and one Ph.D student.

 

(18) Postdoctoral Fellowship Position

Postdoc Fellowship Position summary/title: Postdoc in mafic crustal growth

Deadline : 31 January 2024

View details & Apply

 

Inter-CeBIL is dedicated to facilitating the translation of innovative health & life science research into practical applications and innovation that creates beneficial impact in society and reaches patients. Against this background, the accepted Postdoc is supposed to contribute with problem and solution-oriented research at the highest level focusing on issues that relate to these three key-areas:

1. Advanced Medical Computing: Navigate the intricate legal and ethical issues surrounding new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, swarm learning, quantum computing, and other disruptive technologies.
2. Pandemic Preparedness & AMR: Develop frameworks that both accelerate innovations in combating pandemics and antimicrobial resistance and ensure their safe, ethical application.
3. Sustainable Innovation: Focus on eco-systems, drug R&D, and regulation to foster sustainable, effective, and globally competitive health and life science innovation, including biosolutions, NGTs, novel foods, & biologics.

The project is a cross-departmental project in collaboration with other UCPH and RH departments, such as the Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Neurosurgery, as well as a small biotech company, FluoGuide A/S. Cluster for Molecular Imaging is responsible for the in vitro and in vivo part of the project.

Optical imaging has been developed into clinical use in the past 10 years. The new add-on to this is photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). It is the goal of the project to develop such a compound with an already developed fluorescent compound as the starting point.

Your role will be to perform in vitro assays and in vivo experiments to test new compounds for, e.g., specific uptake and targeting, biodistribution, and other relevant studies before clinical translation. Further, there will be the possibility to supervise 2 PhD students who will work on the project as well.

The postdoctoral position is funded by a five-year research grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation that investigates plant strategies for detoxification of mycotoxins in the oat-Fusarium interaction, with a main focus on glutathione transferase enzymes (GSTs). The successful applicant will join the Plant Metabolic Plasticity research group, headed by Associate Professor Nanna Bjarnholt and embedded in the Section for Plant Biochemistry. The project is carried out in collaboration with plant pathologists Professor David Collinge and Associate Professor Birgit Jensen in the Section for Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology.

Our international and highly translational project, characterized by a strong emphasis on teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration, is focused on understanding tissue remodelling in normal and pathological conditions, with a particular emphasis on Extracellular Matrix (ECM) homeostasis in cancer and fibrosis. We actively engage with an international network of collaborators to foster innovative research. Our approach is inclusive, embracing diversity in group composition in terms of gender, internationalization, and age.

We aim to identify and utilize actionable receptors that are upregulated in cancer and the cancer-associated stroma, with a specific focus on Tumour-Associated Macrophages (TAMs) and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs).

The interest of the research group is molecular and genetic mechanisms of embryonic development and birth defects. We have particular focus on heart development and congenital heart disease. We are using a multidisciplinary approach, where we combine genetic and genomic investigations of patients, with functional investigations based on embryonic tissues, cell models and zebrafish. Our ambition is to perform research on the highest level and publish in high-quality international journals. We have a very inclusive working environment and a large network of national and international collaborators.

In this position, you will work on different projects within the group centred around exploring how the gut environment shapes type-2 immunity. We are interested in the consequences of type-2 immune function on parasite infection, as well as the immunological and inflammatory milieu both in the gut and extraintestinal tissues such as the brain and liver. The main role of the postdoc will be to carry out research involving dietary manipulations and experimental parasite infections of mice, as well as some in vitro work with organoids and/or cell lines. This will be coupled with extensive immunological analyses such as multiparameter flow cytometry (e.g innate lymphoid cells, T-cells) and single-cell RNA-sequencing, as well as analyses of microbiome composition and mucosal barrier function.  

In this role, you will primarily focus on utilizing in-house developed agonist leads for both ex vivo and in vivo target validation studies, including long-term chronic studies in rodents. This approach will facilitate a series of progressively complex target validation studies. To enhance the impact of your research, you are expected to establish collaborative relationships with other research groups within the center. This collaboration will allow you to fully leverage state-of-the-art technologies, such as the Rodent Metabolic Phenotyping Platform. Your key responsibilities include characterizing the mechanism of action of these agonist leads and developing a robust efficacy package. The ultimate objective is to validate the physiological role of GPR39 in the regulation of type-2 diabetes, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), and Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD)

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of cellular energy homeostasis and a therapeutic target for cardiometabolic diseases. This project aims to uncover molecular mechanism(s) by which AMPK  regulatory subunit myristoylation and carbohydrate-binding module regulates specific metabolic functions through controlling cellular localization and protein-protein or protein-metabolite interactions. The project will be driven by the successful candidate via multifaceted approaches, including structure-guided mutagenesis, gene-editing, enzyme kinetics (in vitro), proteomics, cell imaging, in vivo metabolic analyses and through international collaborations with renowned research groups.

‘Applying the rules of the European Health Union (EU-Apply)’ is funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research in Social Sciences. The research project examines rule accumulation and application in EU health regulation. Over time, European Union (EU) health legislation has accumulated with direct implication for rule-takers. Recent research points out how policy accumulation may impinge on policy implementation and delivery. EU-Apply brings this insight to the EU multi-level setting, but shifts focus onto target groups’ application of the accumulated corpus of rules they are subjected to. EU Apply aims to provide a first-time systematic investigation of the enactment of EU legislation by rule takers.

We are seeking an excellent, ambitious, and highly motivated candidate with background in experimental geochemistry and interest in characterizing redox conditions on the early Earth. The position is available for 2 years from April 1, 2024 (or soon thereafter). The postdoc will join the Earth’s climate and oxygenation history Research Group within the Geobiology Section at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen.

We are looking for motivated bioinformaticians or data scientist with the following competencies, skillset, and possible experience: Previous experience with development of computational methods for the analysis of short-read sequencing data.  Previous experience with development of statistical and computational methods for phylogenetic assignment of DNA sequencing data from environmental DNA to taxonomic groups.

The group’s focus is on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the surface structure and chemistry of particles in physiological environments, particularly gastrointestinal fluids, and the consequences for interaction with biological tissues. The group uses a range of structural and analytical techniques in order to understand these aspects of particles in pharmaceutical products and food, including international synchrotron and neutron scattering facilities, advanced microscopy as well as lipidomic and proteomic analysis to understand composition of the interface. Understanding how the structure and chemistry at the interface then impacts on interactions with gut biointerfaces (microbiota, mucus, epithelial surfaces etc) is our unifying theme and goal.

This post doc project is part of an ambitious collaborative research project funded by a Lundbeck Foundation Collaborative Project Grant between 7 PIs at University of Copenhagen, University of Helsinki and Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. The project is highly interdisciplinary and multifaceted, and the project group comprises research groups with a broad range of expertise, including medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry/structural biology, molecular pharmacology, biochemistry, neuroscience, ex vivo/in vivo pharmacology and PET imaging.

The project arises from the recent pioneering discovery made by the University of Helsinki PIs that some psychedelic drugs in addition to their agonist activity at the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor and other serotonergic/monoaminergic receptors act as positive allosteric modulators of the BDNF receptor TrkB (Moliner et al., Nat. Neurosci., 2023). The overall aims of this post doc project are to develop novel classes of ligands with selective action on TrkB over 5-HT2A, and vice versa, to study the molecular basis for and the modes of action of these ligands at the receptors, and to probe the therapeutic potential in selective modulation of 5-HT2A and TrkB receptors.