161509 Associate Professor of Immunotherapy for Metabolic Endogenous Retroviruses Associated Disease (Fixed-Term 1 year, 4 months) (20%)

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

The University seeks to appoint an associate professor to the Department of Biomedical Sciences to commence as soon as possible.

Information on the Department can be found at: https://sund.ku.dk/.  

Job description
We are seeking a candidate with a well-documented track record within virology, immunology and development of antiviral immunization technologies capable of breaking self-tolerance and target endogenous retroviruses and previous experience within ERV (endogenous retroviruses) immunotherapy, to study the potential of endogenous retroviruses as targets in metabolic disease. Major human disease and predisease conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and nephropathy have been associated with metabolic stress and reactivation of endogenous retroviruses, and genetic repeat elements have been observed and are thought to play potential roles as drivers of inflammation and disease pathogenesis. The candidate should be able to explore the intersection between metabolism, endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and immunization technologies to probe the possibilities of therapeutic interventions and the potential for merging competences from immunology, vaccinology and biomedical sciences.

The associate professor’s responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Research, including publication/academic dissemination
• Research-based teaching, including associated examination
• Research leadership, including guidance and supervision of researchers
• Obligation to share knowledge with the rest of society, including participation in public debate
• Academic assessments

Required qualifications
Six overall criteria apply for associate 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, each applicant must be able to document:

• Research qualifications at the level that can be achieved by satisfactorily completing a period of employment as an assistant professor/postdoc, but may also be obtained in other ways
• Teaching qualifications and pedagogical competencies
• Research-based teaching

The associate professor is also required to possess good interpersonal and communicative skills.

Terms of employment
The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period starting as soon as possible and ending 31 December 2026.

The average weekly working hours are 7.4 hours per week.

Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation 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 2020.

Questions
For further information, please contact Head of Department Cathrine Ørskov, corskov@sund.ku.dk. https://sund.ku.dk/.

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

Application
The application must be submitted in English and must include the following documents:

• Application, including motivations for applying for the position (Maximum 2 pages)
• Curriculum vitae, including information about external funding
• Diplomas (Master’s, PhD, and other relevant certificates)
• A complete list of publications
• Research plan (3‐5 pages)
• Uploads of maximum 5 publications to be considered in the assessment
• Teaching plan
• Teaching portfolio (Guidelines: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio).

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. The Dean then appoints an expert assessment committee in order to make an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. 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 at https://jobportal.ku.dk/.

Please note that the applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation.

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 encourages all interested applicants to apply for this position.

Please submit the application with the required attachments. The closing date for applications is 23.59 p.m. CET, Wednesday 1 May 2024.