PhD fellowship in Immunology

At Laboratory of Immunology, Section of Biomedicine,
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

 

We are offering a PhD fellowship in experimental immunology with a focus on cellular stress during cancer and viral infections commencing August 1st 2026 or soon thereafter.

Our group and research
The PhD fellow will be placed in the Laboratory of Immunology at the Section of Biomedicine. Our group investigates the regulation of different leukocytes during infection and inflammation and we are particularly interested in identifying novel regulatory pathways used by NK cells, macrophages and T-cells.

Project description
Leukocytes such as NK cells and cytotoxic T cells eliminate cancerous or infected cells by interacting with surface molecules, such as stress ligands present on the target cell. However, how these ligands are regulated during cellular stress and inflammation remains poorly understood.

In this project, our goal is to identify novel pathways for regulation of stress-induced expression of ligands for co-stimulatory receptors present on effector immune cells such as NK cells and T cells, to improve our understanding of the interaction between immune cell and target cell. We want to elucidate how immune cell recognition, activation and effector function are affected during stress and inflammation and identify potential targets for regulating NK- and T cell-mediated immunity in particular during influenza infection.

Principal supervisor is Professor Søren Skov, Laboratory of Immunology, Section of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, email: sosk@sund.ku.dk

Start:                  August 1st 2026
Duration:          3 years as a PhD student

Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.

• Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
• Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

PhD Programme Description:
The PhD programme is a three-year full-time research education within the framework of the 5+3 scheme, intended for candidates holding a relevant academic degree within the project’s subject area (e.g., [relevant degrees]).

Qualifications:
If you have completed your academic education in Denmark, the admission to the PhD programme requires a relevant Master’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS BSc + 120 ECTS MSc).

If you have an academic education from abroad, you must have either a degree equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ETCS + 120 ECTS MSc), or at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) and be academically qualified at master's level.

As part of the assessment of whether you meet the educational requirements, you must also achieve a positive academic evaluation and be assessed as the best qualified for the position.

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

• Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, broadly speaking: Biological/molecular sciences, Pharmaceutical sciences or Medical sciences. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
• Practical experience with multiplexed spectral flow cytometry and IncuCyte Live-cell Imaging
• Extensive experience with primary NK cell cultivation
• Experience with transfection of primary cells

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved on the master’s degree
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience with immunology or cell biology
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in immunology
• Language skills

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Frederiksberg Campus, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories and experimental animal facilities.

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 3 years. The start date is August 1st 2026 or soon thereafter.

The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree­ment between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format: 

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline:  Friday 15 May 23.59pm CEST

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.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

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 find information about the recruitment process at: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicants 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.