Apply no later than 12 October 2016

DTU Food and DTU Nanotech invite applicants for a 3-year PhD scholarship starting ultimo 2016. The project is part of a major initiative to improve risk assessment of environmental chemicals and drugs to better safeguard human health

Project Title: “Optimizing and refining 3D culturing of human stem cells for predictive toxicity”

We envision that human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS) coupled with micro- and nanotechnology will replace experimental animals in some areas of classic toxicology. This project will contribute towards establishing new in vitro methodologies for risk assessment of chemicals based on these technologies. hIPS will be differentiated into cardiomyocytes for predicting embryonic damage and reproductive toxicity, and technologies for 3D microfabrication of scaffold structures for culturing hIPS will be developed and optimized. The 3D hIPS cultures will be characterized and the mechanisms underlying the differentiation process will be studied

The successful candidate will be part of the Research Group for Molecular Toxicology at DTU Food headed by Prof. Anne Marie Vinggaard as well as the Research Group for Bioanalytics at DTU Nanotech headed by Prof. Jenny Emnéus.

Responsibilities and tasks

The PhD student is expected to:

Carry out an independent research project under the guidance of the supervisors

Collect, manage and share research data between stakeholders

Be an active member of the research groups, contributing both experimentally and intellectually to other projects

Write scientific articles and present his/her work at in-house meetings, as well as national and international meetings

Complete courses required for the completion of the PhD program

Write a thesis and defend the PhD project

Be willing to undertake an overseas research placement for 1-3 months

Willingness and ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team not limited to the immediate research groups

Qualifications

Candidates should have a master’s degree in engineering or a similar degree with a background in bioanalytical chemistry, biotechnology or similar.

Essential qualifications:

Excellent communication and organisation skills

Fluent in spoken and written English

Excellent writing and presentation skills

Flexibility and ability to work in a team environment

Availability to travel nationally and internationally

It is also desirable that the candidate has prior experience with some of the following:

Experience with cells and/or tissues culturing.

Experience with hydrogels and/or tissue scaffolds

Experience in developing bioanalytical microfluidic/flow assays

Experience with basic microfabrication techniques like casting, moulding and 3D printing.

Molecular biology techniques such as PCR/RT-qPCR, Western blotting, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, light/fluorescence/confocal microscopy.

General understanding of principles such as ‘chemical safety’, ‘predictive toxicology’, ‘effect biomarkers’.

Experience with software such as Microsoft Office, Prism (or similar statistics tools e.g. R), Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop and online databases such as PubMed, UCSC and BLAST.

Approval and Enrolment

The scholarships for the PhD degree are subject to academic approval, and the candidates will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes of DTU. For information about the general requirements for enrolment and the general planning of the scholarship studies, please see the DTU PhD Guide.

Assessment

The assessment of the applicants will be made by a panel consisting of the Supervisors and Head of Division at DTU Food.

We offer

DTU offers an interesting and challenging job in an international environment focusing on education, research, scientific advice and innovation which contribute to enhancing the economy and improving social welfare. We strive for academic excellence, collegial respect and freedom tempered by responsibility. DTU is a leading technical university in northern Europe and benchmarks with the best universities in the world.

Salary and appointment terms

The salary and appointment terms are consistent with the current rules for PhD degree students. The period of employment is 3 years.

The Molecular Toxicology research group is currently based at the Technical University of Denmark in Søborg but is estimated to relocate to the Lundtofte campus (Kgs. Lyngby) in the new Life Science & Bioengineering building, spring 2017. The Bioanalytics research group is based at the Lundtofte campus.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Anne Marie Vinggaard +45 3588 7549 or Jenny Emnéus +45 2547 3548.

You can read more about the DTU Food (Technical University of Denmark) on www.food.dtu.dk/english

Application

Please submit your online application no later than 12 October 2016.

Applications must be submitted as one pdf file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link “Apply online,” fill in the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one pdf file. The file must include:

A letter motivating the application (cover letter)

Curriculum vitae

Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (an official translation into English)

Excel sheet with translation of grades to the Danish grading system (see guidelines and excel spreadsheet here)

Candidates may apply prior to obtaining their master’s degree, but cannot begin before having received it.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.