PhD Fellowship on Pharmacology and Pathology at University of Copenhagen in Denmark, 2015

Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen is offering a PhD fellowship commencing 1 September 2015 or soon thereafter. The application deadline is 9 August 2015.

The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and Novo Nordisk A/S established a research centre in 2010 - The LIFEPHARM Centre (www.lifepharm.dk) - with a total budget of DKK 140 million covering activities until the end of 2022.

The present position is part of the Centre’s activities. The purpose of the research centre is to strengthen the research in experimental pharmacology and toxicology and to increase the output of candidates and PhDs with a strong in vivo pharmacological profile.

It is expected that the future PhD fellow will be enrolled in the Graduate Programme for In Vivo Pharmacology and Experimental Animals (IVP) at SUND and participate actively in this network. The IVP Graduate Programme was established in 2006 as a collaboration between the Faculties of Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, University of Aarhus, and industrial partners; Novo Nordisk A/S, LEO Pharma and H. Lundbeck A/S. www.invivofarm.dk

For more information on LIFEPHARM or IVP please contact:
Professor Jens Lykkesfeldt
Director of LIFEPHARM
Head of IVP
jopl@sund.ku.dk
Phone: (+45) 35 33 31 63)

Project description
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are extensively developed for therapeutic use in various indications. During non-clinical safety assessment, high doses of mAbs are administered to animals to study potential adverse drug reactions. When dosing human mAbs to animals, immunogenicity, e.g. formation of anti-drug-antibodies (ADAs), is relatively common. A direct consequence of ADA formation may be decreased exposure and/or neutralization of the pharmacological activity. However, ADAs may also cause hypersensitivity reactions through immune complex formation, which are more infrequent, but may lead to significant pathophysiologic changes or even death. In this project we wish to study the dynamics of immune complex formation and clearance after administration of mAbs to rats to examine if biomarkers can be used to predict development of immune complex-mediated vascular pathology in target tissues.

Principal supervisor
Professor Jens Lykkesfeldt
E-mail: jopl@sund.ku.dk
Direct Phone: (+45) 35 33 31 63
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

Co-supervisors
Brian Lauritzen, Vibeke Miller Breinholt
E-mail: blz@novonordisk.com; vmb@novonordisk.com
Novo Nordisk A/S

Required qualifications

MSc in a biological science, veterinary medicine, medicine or other equivalent degree with a special interest in topics such as pharmacology and animal research.
Documented experience within experimental animal work.
Experience within experimental pharmacology.

Preferred qualifications

Category C license to carry out animal experiments.
Fluency in English and excellent communication skills.
Experience with imaging techniques.

General Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at SUND are to:

Manage and carry through your research project.
Take PhD courses.
Write scientific articles and your PhD thesis.
Participate in international congresses.
Stay at a research institution abroad.
Teach and disseminate your research.

A substantial part of the PhD project will be performed in the Novo Nordisk facilities in Måløv in Denmark.

Key criteria for the assessment of candidates

The grade point average achieved.
Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD programme.
Previous publications.
Relevant work experience.
Other professional activities.
Language skills.

The successful candidate is also required to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills.

Formal requirements
The position is available for a 3-year period for applicants holding a relevant master´s degree.

It is a prerequisite that the PhD candidate is enrolled as PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen according to the rules stipulated in "Bekendtgørelse nr. 18 af 14. januar 2008 om ph.d.-graden."

Terms of employment
Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant professional organisations. The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (2007).

Questions
For further information contact Jens Lykkesfeldt, jopl@sund.ku.dk

Foreign applicants may find the following links useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility) and www.workingconditions.ku.dk

Application Procedure

Applications - in English - must include:

Cover Letter, stating for which PhD project you are applying and detailing your motivation and background for applying for this specific PhD project.
CV
Diploma and detailed transcripts of records.
Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications (if any), peer reviewed and other.
Personal recommendations.
A maximum of 3 relevant scientific works which the applicant wishes to have included in the assessment.

The application 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 encourages all interested in this post to apply.

Please submit the application with the required attachments by clicking on "Apply online". Only online applications will be accepted. The closing date for applications is 23.59 p.m., 9 August 2015.

http://jobportal.ku.dk/phd/?show=745348