Assistant Professor at Center for Translational Neuromedicine

The Center for Translational Neuromedicine and 9.4T NMR rodent imaging Core Facility at the University of Copenhagen has one opening for an assistant professor position with focus on small animal imaging using MRI, µCT and SPECT.We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic candidate for a 3-year position to commence on 1st February 2024.

Information on the department can be found at: https://ctn.ku.dk/ and http://nmr.ku.dk.

Our research group
Center for Translational Neuromedicine currently has approximately 60 employees and students of international background and is divided into 4 labs. CTN is characterized by a highly ambitious and collaborative research environment, highly valuing a teamwork and diversity. The assistant professor will be part of the Nedergaard lab, hereunder our NMR Core Facility.

Being part of the Nedergaard lab offers an opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary lab engaged in neuroscience with a focus on the basic biology of glial cells in the CNS and the role of astrocytes in several neurological diseases, including stroke, spinal cord injury, epilepsy, tremor, and ALS. Research is aimed at defining new strategies for the treatment of neurological diseases that target astrocytic dysfunction.

CTN is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, and is located at Panum. The Center comprises modern laboratories and excellent facilities within neuroscience. The project that we are recruiting for focuses on glial and vascular dynamics driving fluid fluxes in the rodent brain using multiple tomographic imaging approaches. The NMR Core, where the candidate would be assigned to, houses a 9.4T ultra-high field MRI equipment along with a large variety of coils and peripheral devices. Furthermore, CTN possesses own SPECT Facility equipped with SPECT/PET/µCT scanner. By using the most optimal setup for experiments, the candidate will have a chance to generate new and valuable data, analyze it, and draw important for neuroscientific community conclusions.

Your job

The successful candidate will be part of Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics within Center for Translational Neuromedicine (CTN). Your responsibilities would encompass NMR/MRI related electrical prototype development and construction, maintenance of Bruker hardware, troubleshooting, and implementation of quality check protocols, MRI protocol optimization with practical knowledge of translational protocols in clinical settings, Bruker sequence programming, data acquisition and data processing. Supplementary, theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills in work with ionizing (both natural and man-made) and non-ionizing (MR field) radiation would be considered as a superlative. As an assistant professor your tasks would also include research, including publication/academic dissemination duties, research-based teaching with focus on neuroscience and tomographic methods in brain imaging, sharing scientific knowledge with society.

Profile
Six overall criteria apply for assistant professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organisational contribution, external funding, and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates. Find information about each criterion here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit.

Furthermore, we are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following skills and experience:

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate from the field of biomedical imaging, eager to push boundaries in ultra-high field MR imaging and imaging using ionizing radiation, to contribute to the scientific mission of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The successful candidate must hold a PhD degree in an electrical/electronics engineering discipline, applied physics/mathematics, biomedical engineering or related field; strong knowledge of MRI physics, advanced MR sequences, expertise in MR images and biomedical data analysis, as well as basic physiology or radiology. Experience with small animal NMR, MRI sequence optimization, and pulse-sequence development are required. Strong background in computer-based skills (image-processing know-how a must – MATLAB, R, Fiji, python, etc.) is an advantage. Experience in pulse sequence development for ParaVision is preferred, as well as proficiency in scripting and/or programming. In addition, knowledge and skills in µCT and SPECT/PET imaging are desired as it is foreseen to work with MRI in combination with other tomographic methods.

The projects are highly collaborative and interdisciplinary. The successful candidate will also possess excellent collaboration skills to support the NMR users’ need, preferably having previous academic/industrial practice in this area. Excellent communications skills are needed for planning and execution of the NMR user experiments that span over many diverse projects. Experience in working in a multidisciplinary research environment as well as teaching skills confirmed by supervision of students or conduction of lectures/seminars is preferred.

Work place

You will be part of the NMR Core Facility located at Blegdamsvej 3B, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. Your primary workplace will be at the 9.4T NMR Core, which is governed by CTN.

Essential experience and skills:

• You have a PhD in technical sciences, i.e. physics, electrical / electronics / biomedical engineering or related fields
• You are highly experienced in clinical and preclinical MRI, imaging protocol development
• You have an active interest in neuroscience and brain physiology, brain fluid flow
• You have pre- and postgraduate teaching experience within neuroscience or physiology, physiological modelling, biomedical imaging with focus on MRI, CT, SPECT or PET
• Proficient communication skills and ability to work in teams of diverse background
• Supervision or teaching experience
• Excellent English skills written and spoken

Desirable experience and skills:

• Experience/knowledge in/of biomedical tomographic imaging methods, with focus on low and high-field MRI as well as µCT/SPECT imaging
• Experience/knowledge in/of in the research on glymphatics system
• Experience/knowledge in/of in the field of work with the natural and man-made sources of ionizing radiation
• Experience/knowledge in/of statistical analysis of biomedical data, presented by means of the published papers as a collaborator as well as the first author.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at Center for Translational Neuromedicine and Panum NMR Core, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and state-of-the-art equipment. The Panum NMR Core Facility is run by Center for Translational Neuromedicine, and is responsible for the running of a Bruker 9.4T USR 94/30 small animal magnet controlled by ParaVision software, and includes a large array of coils, including 1H- and 31P-CryoProbes. The NMR Core supports research from faculty across many fields at the University of Copenhagen as well as external collaborators, involved in many exciting and cutting edge scientific projects. Furthermore, CTN possesses own SPECT Facility equipped with SPECT/PET/µCT scanner allowing to combine the findings from currently available state-of-the-art biomedical imaging methods.

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 1 February 2024 or after agreement.

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 36,400 DKK/approx. 4,800 EUR (October 2023 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

The successful candidate will refer to Associate Professor Yuki Mori and Professor and Co-Director Maiken Nedergaard.

Questions
For further information please contact Center Administrator Ann Christensen, [email protected].

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (Max. one page)
2. CV incl. education, work/research experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
3. A certified/signed copy of a) PhD certificate and b) Master of Science certificate.
4. List of publications
5. Teaching portfolio (If applicable)

Deadline for applications: 31 October 2023, 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. 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 can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant 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 by the end of November.

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

Kilde: Jobnet.dk