An open position for a PhD fellow in the EU-funded European Training Network “Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR): therapeutics for Non-Communicable Diseases (CaSR Biomedicine)”.
The PhD position is at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Expected starting date October 1, 2016.
The application deadline is March 31, 2016.
Project title: Delineation of CaSR signalling in primary cells and cell lines with native receptor expression
Project
The CaSR Biomedicine European Training Network is a fully translational project that examines a single molecule, the CaSR, influencing a range of physiological and disease processes, to develop a unique, strong multidisciplinary and intersectoral scientific training programme, preparing 14 young scientists to become specialists in biology and signalling of G protein-coupled receptors. The PhD fellows will undertake a systems biomedicine approach to study the importance of cellular context in the functionality of the same molecule across different tissues (e.g. vasculature, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract) and pathologies (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, Altheimer’s disease, sarcopenia, cancer) to identify novel therapeutical approaches of CaSR targeting drugs that could be repurposed for the management of these major diseases.
For this position you will 1) perform pharmacological testing of various ortho- and allosteric ligands on primary cells and cell lines of relevance to the Consortium such as (neuroblastoma, colon cancer, breast cancer cells) and map their signalling pathways and potential for biased signalling. You will test the ligands using dynamic mass redistribution assays on the Corning Epic BT system. Due to the label-free technology it is possible to study the cell response in a more natural setting, closer to physiology; thus we expect to have greater translational value. 2) You will investigate the most promising ligand-cell combinations in more detail using specific signalling pathway inhibitors to identify the signalling pathway(s) that contribute to the observed signalling fingerprint. 3) Observations from objective 2 will be further analysed with assays for the anticipated pathways (e.g. measurement of inositol monophosphate, cAMP and pERK using time-resolved FRET assays). 4) Finally, you will correlate the observed signalling profiles with physiological outputs e.g. apoptosis in primary neuroblastoma cells.
The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 675228.
Supervision
This research project will be performed at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The principal supervisor will be Professor Hans Bräuner-Osborne, email: [email protected]direct phone +45 3533 4469.
Required qualifications
As an applicant you must have:
•Obtained a Master´s degree in the field of life sciences
•Fluency in English and excellent communication skills
Preferred qualifications
We are looking for a highly motivated individual with experience in molecular pharmacology. In addition, experience within the following subjects is considered an advantage:
•Mammalian cell culture and expression of recombinant G protein-coupled receptors.
•Molecular pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors incl. measurement of downstream signaling.
•Analysis of pharmacological data using e.g. GraphPad Prism.
•Being a team-player within an interdisciplinary research environment.
General job description
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow at the Faculty are to:
•manage and carry through your research project
•Participate in the CaSR Biomedicine training and network activities
•take PhD courses
•write scientific articles and your PhD thesis
•participate in national and international congresses and scientific meetings
•research stays at CaSR Biomedicine partner laboratories
•disseminate your research
•participate in the undergraduate teaching of students in pharmaceutical sciences
Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
•Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD programme
•Relevant work experience
•Previous publications
•The grade point average achieved
•Other professional activities
•Language skills
•The successful applicant is also required to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills
Formal requirements
The position is available for a three-year period for applicants holding a relevant master´s degree.
The candidate needs to be in the first four years of her/his research career. The four years are counted from the date the degree was obtained which formally entitles to embark on a doctorate.
The candidate must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.
The successful candidate will be requested to formally apply for enrolment as a PhD student at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences according to the rules stipulated in the Ministerial order on the PhD programme at the universities (PhD order) from the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Higher Education and the guidelines for the PhD programme at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
Terms of employment
The position as a PhD fellow is available for a 3-year period.
Salary and other terms of employment are stated in the Protocol on PhD Research Fellows signed by the Danish Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).
Application procedure
The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Your application must contain:
•Cover letter: Application form from the CaSR Biomedicine Programme office. The form includes a summary of technical and scientific experiences, a list of publications and/or presentations at meetings, names and adresses of two referees, letter of motivation (research interests, reasons for applying for this programme and the host/host institute)
•Full CV: A detailed CV demonstrating competence and motivation for science
•Diploma and transcripts of records: Master´s and Bachelor’s degree diplomas (including grade transcripts for bachelor´s and master´s degrees). Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used. Foreign documents must be certified English translations
•Other information to consider: The synopsis of the degree thesis if applicable.
Furthermore, an e-mail of the whole application has to be sent to the CaSR Biomedicine Programme office ([email protected]).
Please note that two referees will have to send letters of recommendation separately and a completed questionnaire to the the CaSR Biomedicine Programme office ([email protected]).
The application form and referee form are published athttp://www.meduniwien.ac.at/hp/ipa/forschung/forschungsgruppen/kallay-enikoe-tumour-pathology/projects/recruitment/
The University of Copenhagen wishes to encourage everyone interested in this post to apply, regardless of personal background.
Deadline for applications
March 31, 2016. Please note that only online applications will be accepted.
Applications received later than this date will not be considered.
Post application procedure
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointments Committee.
All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an expert assessment committee.
Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself. You can read about the recruitment process athttp://employment.ku.dk
The Appointments Committee consists of the supervision group and the Head of Department who is the authorized recruitment manager. The Expert Assessment Committee consists of the principal supervisor.
An answer as to the granting of the fellowship can be expected approx. 8 weeks after application deadline.
Questions
For further information, applicants may contact the principal supervisor Professor Hans Bräuner-Osborne or Administrator Marianne W. Jørgensen, email:[email protected], direct phone: +45 3533 6449.
For more information on working and living in Denmark visit http://ism.ku.dk
(International staff mobility) and http://ism.ku.dk/workingconditions.
