Assistant Professor of Health Complexity Copenhagen Health Complexity Center

A three-year Assistant Professorship is available at the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. The employment is expected to start on 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

About the Center

The Assistant Professor will be employed at the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, which aims to build a strong scientific foundation for understanding and acting on complex public-health challenges. The Center leverages multi-layered nationwide social and health data combined with an interdisciplinary fusion of methods spanning public health, epidemiology, data science, social science, ethnography, and systems science. Our research focuses on the complex interplay of health, social, and environmental factors that shape individuals, families, and networks over time. We emphasise interdisciplinary collaboration, offering the Assistant Professor an opportunity to actively engage as a collaborative partner in different projects depending on their interests and expertise. Learn more about the Center and our research, vision, and values here.

About the Department

The Department of Public Health provides the scientific foundation for researchers and educators who aim to improve public health both nationally and globally, and who work to gain greater insight into the links between health, the individual, and society as well as the ethical, equity, and political implications of these links. We achieve this through research, education, and engagement with stakeholders and the general public along with a broad multidisciplinary research agenda that addresses most aspects of public health at a high international level. More information about the Department of Public Health is available here.

About the position

The Assistant Professorship will be nested within the LAYERS project, which investigates how multiple layers of childhood adversity generate health inequality over the life course and across generations; the intention is to break vicious circles of adversity, and to identify children and families who could potentially benefit from targeted support. LAYERS builds on data from the globally unique DANLIFE cohort, which includes comprehensive data on health, social, and environmental issues in more than 2 million individuals over three generations. This infrastructure is combined with interdisciplinary methods from data science, epidemiology, econometrics, and systems science within a health-complexity framework to generate new knowledge on patterns of health inequality, their underlying mechanisms, and how they evolve over time. The LAYERS project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

The Assistant Professor’s responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Develop a research agenda related to understanding the complex social and health mechanisms and dynamics that create and sustain health inequalities over generations, as part of a larger ERC Consolidator project on health inequality.
• Develop and apply methods for health-complexity research based on large quantitative data resources, combining methods from epidemiology, data science and complexity science. 
• Contribute to scientific publications and the dissemination of results related to these topics.
• Collaborate with other researchers in the Center on interdisciplinary projects.
• Participate in research-based teaching in complexity science, epidemiology, data science, or related fields.
• Actively contribute to the development of organisational elements within the group, such as network activities, website, outreach initiatives, social engagements, scientific meetings, and more.
• Participate in the formal pedagogical training programme for Assistant Professors.

Profile

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

• You have a PhD degree in medicine, epidemiology, data science, complexity science, computational science, social science, or other related sciences
• You have some experience with research related to health inequality
• You have an active interest in complex-systems science applied to public health and health inequality
• You have proficient communication skills and a proven ability to work in interdisciplinary teams
• You have excellent English skills, both written and spoken
• You have the ambition and willingness to compete at a high international level to make impact.

Five overall criteria apply for assistant professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The five criteria (research, teaching, innovation and societal impact, organisational contribution, and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates. Find information about each criterion here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit.

Place of employment

The place of employment is the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen next to the lakes in central Copenhagen.

Terms of employment

The position is a full-time position (37 working hours weekly). The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Salary, pension, and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 18.07 % to your pension fund. 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. The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2025.

Further information

For specific information about the position, please contact Center Director, Professor Naja Hulvej Rod at nahuro@sund.ku.dk

Applicants may find the following links useful:

• Copenhagen Health Complexity Center: https://www.healthcomplex.dk/
• University of Copenhagen: http://www.ku.dk/english/
• Department of Public Health: https://publichealth.ku.dk/
• International Staff Mobility: https://ism.ku.dk/

Application process

Your application should be written in English and must include the following documents – all in PDF format:

• Letter of motivation (max. 1 page). Please briefly describe your previous research experience and interests as well as what attracts you to the position, both in terms of the topic and the academic work
• Overview of your experience with complex-systems science and health inequality research
• Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications
• Certified/signed copy of
  a) PhD certificate

b) Master of Science certificate

• Research plan (max. 2 pages) outlining your ideas for a project that focuses on the lifelong health consequences of multiple layers of childhood adversity across individuals, families, and neighbourhood scales and across generations using data from DANLIFE and within the LAYERS project. The following preprint paper from the LAYERS project may be helpful for writing this proposal.
• Teaching portfolio if applicable (guidelines: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio)

Please submit your application by clicking on “Apply Now” below. Only online applications will be considered.

Deadline for applications: 26 July 2026, 23:59 CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not meet the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiration of the deadline for applications, the authorised recruitment manager will select applicants for assessment based on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been approved for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment has been completed, each applicant is given an opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant themselves.

You can read more about the recruitment process here: 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 34.

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