PhD fellowship in Serotonin Disease Biology at the Department of Neuroscience

We are offering a PhD fellowship in serotonin disease biology commencing 1 October, 2025, or as soon as possible hereafter.

 

Our group and research
We are a newly established research group investigating how monoamine dysfunction contributes to brain disorders, with a particular focus on neuropsychiatric disorders such as affective disorders, Autism, and ADHD. We are broadly interested in how imbalances in monoaminergic signalling affect behaviour, circuit function, and therapeutic responses. Our lab combines tools from molecular pharmacology, viral and genetic circuit manipulation, in vivo imaging, and behavioural assays in mouse models to dissect mechanisms at the cellular and systems levels.

 

Project description

This PhD project investigates a rare genetic variant of the serotonin transporter, SERT-N217S, which has been implicated in treatment-resistant affective disorders. The overarching goal is to understand how disease-relevant alterations in serotonin signaling contribute to maladaptive behavior and poor treatment response.

Using a newly developed knock-in mouse line carrying the human SERT-N217S variant, the project combines behavioral phenotyping with advanced neuropharmacological and imaging techniques. The student will employ in vivo methods such as fiber photometry to monitor real-time neural activity, and ex vivo approaches including qPCR, immunohistochemistry, and radiolabeled 5-HT uptake in synaptosomal preparations to assess molecular and cellular alterations.

This multidisciplinary project offers training in behavioral neuroscience, neuroimaging, and molecular neurobiology, with the ultimate aim of establishing a novel model for serotonergic dysfunction in affective disorders. The insights gained will help elucidate how genetically driven serotonin disruption shapes brain function and behavior.

 

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Freja Herborg Department of Neuroscience, e-mail: frejahh@sund.ku.dk, tel 53609699

Start:            1 October, 2025

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

 

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, e.g. molecular biomedicine, biology, biomedicine, medicine, human biology, neuroscience or equivalent. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).

Other important criteria are:

• FELASA-certified with experience in mouse handling and analysis of mouse behavior
• Experience with stereotactic surgery
• Experience with fiber photometry recordings and analysis
• Experience with IHC, mRNA isolation and qPCR analysis
• Relevant work experience and other professional activities
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in neuroscience, neuropharmacology and genetics
• Previous publications (if applicable)
• Proficiency in written and spoken English 

The research group is highly multidisciplinary and international. New members are expected to collaborate both within the group and within the department of Neuroscience. Strong networking and team player skills are therefore valued.

 

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

 

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 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible hereafter.

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. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 30,800 DKK/Roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2025 level) plus pension.

 

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:  15 June 2025, 23.59pm CET

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.

 

Interviews are expected to be held in week 30

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