Postdoctoral position in Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine

The Department of Forensic Medicine, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen is offering a postdoctoral position in the area of “Establishing research infrastructure in clinical forensic medicine for the purpose of strengthening the forensic assessments” and the applied research. The position commences on 1 March 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Description of scientific environment

The Section of Forensic Pathology, University of Copenhagen, carries out forensic autopsies and clinical forensic examinations, including age assessments, for the judiciary and other public authorities. Based on this casework, the Section has extensive developmental and scientific work tasks within the fields of applied research and prevention. The Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine is one of three sections at the Department of Forensic Medicine carrying out research and teaching assignments according to ordinary university policies. The Section collaborates with a wide range of partners such as the Danish police, the Danish Patient Safety Authority, various clinical departments, centres for rape victims and Børnehuse (Children’s Houses) as well as other university departments. The Section has about 80 employees, including 1 professor, 3 associate professors, 20 forensic doctors, administrative staff, 7 PhD students, 3 laboratory technicians and several thesis students. The Section has state-of-the-art autopsy and clinical examination facilities, comprising CT and MRI scanners. The Section is accredited to quality standard ISO 17020.

The postdoctoral position

The postdoctoral position is integrated with the departmental strategic investment plan aiming at the establishment of a research infrastructure in the form of a comprehensive database with information from forensic investigations to be used for research and development to strengthen the rule of law in forensic assessments. The database is to offer the opportunity of linkage with national agency data such as socioeconomic and health data.

The postdoctoral work will focus on documentation and interpretation of injuries and biological traces as observed during forensic examination of victims or suspected perpetrators of violent crimes such as battery and sexual abuse.

Today, information from such examinations is registered in a non-uniform manner, making systematic research time-consuming and expensive. Applying systematic, evidence-based documentation methods and procedures will strengthen the individual case report as well as provide a more solid base for systematic research.

The implementation of several focus areas has been started, including systematic registration of i.e., child abuse and child neglect with an ongoing, larger project concerning systematic forensic medical screening of children in cases of suspected physical violence. The postdoc will be linked to this project and is expected to work on establishing research infrastructure, optimising data, creating relevant research questions, and performing some of the clinical forensic child examinations. It is envisaged that the project will offer application of techniques such as use of artificial intelligence in research on big data.

We aim at establishing a unified, forensic database, that will initially encompass the examinations and analyses of children performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen.

The postdoc will work under the research leadership of:

Associate professor, PhD Carl Johan Wingren, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen.

Professor, PhD Jytte Banner, Section of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science at University of Copenhagen.

Job description
The position is available for a 3-year period and your key tasks as a postdoc at SUND, KU will be to:

• Work with large datasets with the purpose of creating a uniform database.
• Create, in collaboration with your research leaders, your own research projects.
• Co-supervise PhD students.
• Participate in teaching activities for both medical students, police, and the public.
• Perform clinical, forensic examinations.
• Participate in implementing innovative methods to establish research infrastructure and to analyse big datasets

Formal requirements
We are seeking highly motivated applicants with an MSc degree or similar in medicine or related fields with the following competences:

• A PhD degree in a relevant field
• Experience with forensic pathology
• Epidemiology and statistics
• Good oral and written English.

It will be highly advantageous to have one or more of the following qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with forensic pathology
• Experience with scientific work
• Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Skilled at collaborating across disciplines

• Experience with statistical analysis software.
• Skills in Danish (Speaking and writing)

Salary and 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 [år] years. The starting date is 1 March 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.

Questions

Further information can be obtained by contacting associate professor, PhD Carl Johan Wingren, phone: +4593565600, [email protected]

Send your motivated application together with copies of diplomas (including transcript of records translated to the ECTS grading scale) and indication of previous employment electronically through: http://jobportal.ku.dk/tap no later than 7 December 2023.

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.

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