PhD fellowship in Veterinary Parasitology

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Veterinary Parasitology commencing 15 September 2024 or after agreement.

Our group and research
The Veterinary Parasitology group works on parasite infections in livestock and companion animals with a focus on epidemiology, diagnostics, impact and clinical aspects, drug resistance and novel approaches to control, including dietary interventions. The group of three permanent staff and Ph.D. students is embedded within the Section of Parasitology and Aquatic Pathobiology, with close links to other sections working with animal diseases and welfare. Our goal is to harness the host to cope or limit infections in a sustainable way to avoid disease, improve immunity and reduce losses in productivity and welfare. The group is international in nature, and the daily working language is English.

Project description

Improving diagnostics and prevention of protozoan infections in livestock

The PhD project is part of a larger research program related to gastrointestinal protozoan infections in pigs and cattle. Coccidiosis and cryptosporidiosis are common infections in pig and cattle herds and continuous preventive medication is often needed for control. The project aims at improving the diagnostic options, providing more basic epidemiology, and exploring new preventive measures on farms. The PhD student will be involved in extensive field sampling, lab work (traditional and molecular diagnostics), on-farm preventive studies, and data handling and analysis. The work will be performed in collaboration with other sections and external partners, and visits to other labs in Denmark and abroad (several months) will be part of the project. Full training will be provided. The PhD student will also to a limited degree contribute to teaching and to the veterinary advisory services within the section.

Principal supervisor is Professor Stig M. Thamsborg, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. [email protected] +45 3533 3778.

Start: 15 September 2024 or after agreement

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

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. Veterinary science, Animal Science, Biotechnology. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project, within parasitology and/or molecular biology
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in infection biology and livestock as experimental animals
• Fluent in Danish or another Scandinavian language, both written and spoken, as the position requires communication with the farmers (on-farm work)
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• High level of self-motivation
• Valid driver’s license due to on-farm work

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and facilities for experimental animal studies.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 15 September 2024 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 approximately 28,993 DKK/Roughly 3,890 EUR (October 2023 level) plus pension.

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. 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

4. Publication list (if possible)

5. Reference letters (if any)

Application deadline: Sunday 2 June 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.

Interviews are expected to be held in week 26 and 27.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.