Postdoc in an EU project at Section for Health Services Research

We are looking for a highly motivated, experienced and dynamic postdoc for a position (23,5 months) in an EU funded, international project aiming at improving the care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to commence January 16th, 2027 or as soon as possible after this date.

Information on the department can be found at: https://publichealth.ku.dk/about-the-department/hsr/

Our research
The EU PAL-COPD project is a multidisciplinary, interprofessional, international and intersectoral project aiming at evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the ICLEAR-EU intervention for people with advanced COPD in different healthcare systems in Europe. ICLEAR-EU is a person-centred and family-centred non-pharmacological service intervention in which respiratory teams in the hospital collaborate with interdisciplinary palliative care teams and with primary care to promote shared decision-making and advance care planning, improve symptom treatment and comfort care, and prevent re-hospitalization after an exacerbation. ICLEAR-EU is based on an existing intervention developed and pilot tested in the UK.

In EU PAL-COPD, the effectiveness of ICLEAR-EU will be assessed with a stepped wedge cluster RCT in 1,224 people with advanced COPD in 18 hospitals across six European countries. It is hence the first large-scale international trial on systematic integration of palliative care in respiratory care for people with advanced COPD. Cost-effectiveness, robust mixed methods, subgroup analyses and in-depth process and implementation evaluations are also included. EU PAL-COPD will improve the well-being and empowerment of people with COPD and their families and advance the state of the art by providing an innovative service model to the complex palliative and end-of-life care needs. User and stakeholder involvement is crucial throughout the project. The project started in 2024 and will last to the end of 2028. After careful preparations, recruitment of patients and caregivers at three Danish hospitals started Autumn 2025.

You will be collaborating closely with Mogens Grønvold, who is responsible for the Danish part of the EU PAL-COPD study and work package co-leader responsible for protocol writing and outcomes assessment in the project. He also takes part in other EU-funded research projects related to palliative care and leads several Danish projects in this field, including some related to the Danish Palliative Care Database. You will also collaborate with researchers at the Palliative Care Research Unit at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital.

Your job
Your tasks will be related to all aspects of the project but mainly to the conduct of the Danish part of the study, which involves three hospitals and about 200 patients. You will be involved in coordinating and securing the data collection and in data analysis, making presentations, article writing, etc. In the project, you will be in close contact with student assistants working for the project in the section, the staff at the Danish hospitals, and members of the large, international consortium. There will be meetings in Denmark and elsewhere. Finally, you will be involved in related teaching and other activities.

Information about the project can be found here: https://eupal-copd.eu/

Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:

Essential experience and skills:

• You have a PhD in health-related research, preferably in a related topic
• You are experienced in conducting, analyzing and reporting relevant research
• You have an active interest in relevant scientific methods
• Proficient communication skills and ability to work in teams
• Excellent English skills written and spoken

Desirable experience and skills:

• Experience with patient-reported outcomes methods and evaluation of complex interventions
• Experience from international research collaboration

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Section for Health Services Research at Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen and possibly also the Palliative Care Research Unit at Bispebjerg Hospital. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic, cross-disciplinary and international research environment.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

This is a fixed-term position with a start date of 16 January 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter. The appointment will run until 31 December 2028.

The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff. Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State.

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.

Questions
For further information please contact professor Mogens Grønvold, email mold@sund.ku.dk www.sund.ku.dk

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

Application procedure
Your online 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. If the PhD is not completed, a written statement from the supervisor will do.
4. List of publications.

Deadline for applications: 16 September 2026

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 https://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 in week 40-41.

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