Associate Professor of Forensic Toxicoloy and Head of Section

Department of Forensic Medicine
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

The University seeks to appoint an associate professor and Head of Section to the Department of Forensic Medicine to commence as soon as possible.

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

Job description
To fulfill the obligations as head of section the applicant must document an expert level within the field of forensic toxicology. A central role in the daily work is participation in forensic toxicological casework at a supervising level. The Head of section is expected to oversee the preparation of forensic statements to the police and the legal system and serve as an expert witness in court. The applicant must therefore have considerable experience (expert level) in the performance and evaluation of forensic toxicology analyses used as evidence in a judicial context. The applicant must be accustomed to working with the police and other public authorities. The applicant must be able to express him-/herself clearly and concisely in Danish - both in writing and verbally.

In considering applications for the associate professorship, the main emphasis will be on the applicant´s ability to document a body of original scientific work on an international level within the areas of forensic toxicology.

The Section of Forensic Toxicology teaches undergraduates and PhD students in forensic toxicology. The applicant must have adequate qualifications to teach medical students and PhD students.

We focus on interdisciplinary research across three research sections of the department and collaborate with national and international institutions, municipalities and regional hospitals to solve complex challenges.

The Head of Section´s duties will primarily consist of:

• exercising leadership for the Section, both personnel and admin
• participation in the daily case work at supervisor level
• leadership of quality assurance

The Head of Section will be part of the leadership of the section of forensic toxicology.

The associate professor's duties will primarily consist of:

• education and supervision of bachelor and graduate students and PhD students
• research, including obligations with regard to publication/scientific communication
• research leadership as well as educational guidance and supervision of junior researchers
• research-based public-sector consultancy in forensic toxicology.

Required qualifications
To be qualified for an associate professor position, you will be assessed according to these five overall criteria for recognising merit at the University of Copenhagen: Research, teaching, innovation & societal impact, organisational contribution and leadership. Find information about each criterion.

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

Specifically, the successful applicant should be able to:

• document specialist level as forensic toxicologist
• demonstrate a track-record of case work within the field of forensic toxicology
• demonstrate a track-record of supervisor experience in case work
• demonstrate a record of original scientific research on an international level, including contributions to the development of the subject area
• provide research-based teaching 
• manage research as well as communicate research results to the public. You are supposed to address relevant aspects related to the field of drug abuse.

The Section of Forensic Toxicology has approximately 35 employees. The Section handles approximately  15000 cases pr year, including 13000 DUI cases, as well as a significant number of post-mortem tox analyses, hair analyses, and analyses of seized effects. The Section has state-of-the-art instrumentation, with advanced robotics, and a comprehensive LIMS system.

Certain tasks at the department may involve exposure to situations that can be psychologically demanding. To address this, the department provides various forms of support and assistance, including preventive measures.

Selected applicants may be asked to undergo a psychological profiling test.

Terms of employment
The position is a permanent position.

The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Finance 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 2025.

Questions
For further information, please contact Head of Department Niels Lynnerup, nly@sund.ku.dk.

Foreign applicants may find the university’s International Staff Mobility useful.

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)

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 the university's Job Portal.

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, Sunday, 6 September 2026.

Interviews for this position are likely to be held in week 41 2026.