Call for postdoctoral fellow in comparative study of gut epithelium dynamics during inflammation through the NORPOD program

Applications are invited for a 2.5-year fulltime postdoc position on the topic of the gut response to inflammation. The position will be joint between DANDRITE within the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark, and the laboratory of Björn O. Schröder at MIMS within Umeå University, Sweden. You will work across zebrafish and mice to understand the link between mucosal barrier damage and sensitivity to inflammation.


Expected start date and duration of employment 

This is a 2.5–year position from October 1st, 2024, or as soon possible hereafter.


Job description 

This position will involve designing, conducting, and analysing experiments to understand the link between mucosal barrier damage and sensitivity to inflammation. While larval zebrafish are transparent and allow imaging the gut response in vivo at organism level, mice are phylogenetically closer to humans, and have a more complex gut microbiota. Researchers with experience in neuroscience, microbiology and immunology are welcome to apply, but it is expected that you will span multiple of these fields once established in the labs. You will have the opportunity to develop your projects based on your existing experience and your own career goals.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• You will conduct research and experiments toward understanding the role of the gut barrier in inflammation.
• Present research results at meetings at all levels – laboratory, institutional, national, and international as appropriate.
• Publish manuscripts of high quality.
• Contribute to an inclusive, cooperative, and affirmative culture within the group.
• Assist with mentorship of junior researchers and the development of funding applications

Your profile 

Applicants should hold a PhD in Immunology, Microbiology, or similar.

Essential:

• Experience and an international track record in microbiology, or immunology.
• Excellent communication skills in English and the ability to work collaboratively.
• The ability to direct and take ownership of research projects.
• Ability to travel and work in Sweden for extended periods of time.

Desirable:

• Experience with the zebrafish and mice models
• Experience with imaging, especially in vivo imaging
• Coding experience in Matlab, Python or R
• Record of high-quality first-author publications or preprints
• Success in competitive funding schemes/awards

Who we are 

NORPOD is a collaborative postdoctoral program of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. The partnership is a network of four national research centers across the Nordics and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), with complementary research expertise at the forefront of molecular medicine research. With the NORPOD program, the Nordic EMBL Partnership aims to foster the next generation of researchers in molecular medicine by implementing joint postdoctoral research projects to nurture strong competences and research excellence.

The NORPOD Fellow will be employed at DANDRITE within the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University, Denmark. To promote collaboration between the two labs, this position will involve short or long-term stays at MIMS, Umeå University, Sweden in the laboratory of Dr. Björn O. Schröder. Successful candidates are expected to travel between the labs to conduct work required for the research project, foster synergies and advance our goals.
The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics is part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University and comprises research within the areas of Plant Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, RNA Biology and Innovation, Protein Science, Cellular Health, Intervention and Nutrition. There are currently 75 full time scientific staff and 95 PhD students. The department is responsible for two educations: Molecular Biology and Molecular Medicine with a yearly uptake of 160 students in total.

Please refer to http://mbg.au.dk/ for further information about The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and to https://nat.au.dk/ and http://www.au.dk/  for information on Faculty of Natural Sciences and Aarhus University, respectively.


What we offer 

The department offers:

• A well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment
• An exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international collaborators
• A research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• A work environment with close working relationships, networking and social activities
• A workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.

Place of work and area of employment 

The position includes two permanent workplace addresses in Aarhus and Umeå respectively. The attendance at each workplace address is by agreement with your immediate supervisor. At the time of employment, the distribution between the workplace addresses is expected to be 2/3 days with place of employment in Aarhus and 1/3 days with place of employment in Umeå. In Aarhus the place of work is Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C . In Umeå the place of work is Biomedicinhuset, byggnad 6 K och 6 L, Norrlands Universitetssjukhus. The area of employment is Aarhus University with affiliated institutions.


Contact information

For further information, please contact: Dr Gilles Vanwalleghem, Email: [email protected]
 

Deadline 

Applications must be received no later than May 31st, 2024.


Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.


Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/