Postdoctoral position in epigenetic responses in ash dieback resistance at research group Forest Genetics and Diversity,

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management,
University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

The Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), under the Faculty of Science, invites applications for a 2-year postdoc position connected to a collaborative research project between IGN, UCPH, and Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Norway, funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research. The position starts on October 1st, 2026, or soon thereafter.

The project has the overall objective to test if tolerance to the ash dieback causing fungus (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) can be mediated through inherited changes in epigenetic regulation of gene expression patterns in common ash (Fraxinus excelsior). The project is headed by Lene Rostgaard Nielsen (IGN, UCPH) in collaboration with national and international researchers. The specific postdoc project aims to detect differences in gene expression profiles in ADB inoculated full-sib seedlings from mother trees exposed or not exposed to ADB during seed development and examine which regulatory mechanisms account for identified differences in ADB response. The successful candidate will be involved in parts of the laboratory work, and in the bioinformatic analysis of gene expression data, genome-wide methylation patterns and changes in histone modifications. The fellowship includes collaboration with Dr Melissa Magerøy and Dr Igor Yakovlev, at NIBIO, Ås, Norway, and includes a research stay at NIBIO.

Qualification requirements 

Mandatory requirements

• Experience with molecular biology methods, ideally Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
• Documented prior experience with bioinformatics processing of NGS data, including quality assessment and filtering, mapping to reference genomes
• Experience with transcriptomic analyses
• Expertise in running computational analyses on computer servers
• Documented evidence of producing high-quality publications
• Fluent spoken and written English

Additional meriting qualifications 

Experience of, and skills in: 

• Basic computer server administration skills
• Prior experience with the analysis of genome-wide methylation patterns
• Prior experience with the analysis of histone modifications

The postdoc’s duties will include research within bioinformatics and epigenetics as well as teaching. The post may also include performance of other duties.

Further information on the Department is linked at https://www.science.ku.dk/english/about-the-faculty/organisation/. Inquiries about the position can be made to Lene Rostgaard Nielsen (lron@ign.ku.dk).

The position is open from 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Terms of employment
Employment is full-time and for 2 years.

The terms of employment and salary are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

• Curriculum vita
• Diplomas (Master and PhD degree or equivalent)
• Research plan – description of current and future research plans
• Complete publication list
• Separate reprints of 3 particularly relevant papers

The deadline for applications is 20 April 2026, 23:59 CEST.

After the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Interview Committee.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews will be held in week 25 (Monday 15 June – Friday 19 June 2026).