PhD student

The aim of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity (NIVI) is to revolutionize and accelerate vaccine development in Denmark by bridging the gap between academic research and industry innovation. NIVI Research Center is a mission-driven academic research center, anchored at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen. The primary focus of the center is the development of new or improved vaccine candidates against infectious respiratory diseases including tuberculosis and influenza. NIVI Research Center aims to achieve this by gaining an enhanced understanding of airway immunity and incorporating innovations in vaccine technologies and delivery methods. As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, progress and innovation in the vaccine development field holds great promise. However, we still face many scientific hurdles that limit the development of effective vaccines that can rapidly induce broad and long-lasting immunity, particularly against airborne viruses and bacteria. NIVI Research Center is developing an integrated basic and translational research program that aims to fill many of these remaining knowledge gaps and to harness this knowledge to develop more effective vaccines.

Position. We are searching for a highly motivated and skilled immunological assays and mucosal delivery specialist to join our growing research team. The successful candidate will play a critical role in designing and executing preclinical studies focused on specific immunity.

Required qualifications

To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Biochemistry, Immunology, Molecular Biomedicine, Molecular Biology or Biotechnology. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

• Proven hands-on experience with immunological assays such ELISA, ELISpot, Western Blot, cytokine profiling, cell and tissue staining.
• Hands-on experience with flow cytometry instruments and techniques.
• Hands-on experience with primer design, vector cloning, qPCR, bacterial transformation.
• Hands-on experience with protein production and purification.
• FELASA A/B/D certificate.
• Background in vaccine development.

Key responsibilities

• Design and perform in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo immunological assays (ELISA, ELISpot, flow cytometry, multiplex cytokine assays, high content imaging)
• Collaborate with formulation scientists to ensure effective mucosal delivery and dosing.
• Analyze immune responses to vaccines, biologics and other therapeutics.
• Maintain accurate experimental records.
• Prepare detailed summaries.
• Review progress of research and evaluate results.
• Maintain document records of all experiments including methods, experimental results, and report accordingly into electronic laboratory notebooks.
• Present scientific results to relevant teams and external partners.
• Carry through an independent research project under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE.
• Participate in teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write and defend a PhD thesis based on the project.

Other skills

• Problem-solving, critical thinking, effective communication
• Excellent organizational skills
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail
• Ability to interact and communicate in multidisciplinary, multifunctional, and multicultural teams.

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 March 2026.

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 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 further information please contact:

Joanna Rejman - Professor and Group Leader

e-mail:

Sai Sundar Rajan Raghavan – Assistant Professor

e-mail:

Homepage

and

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: (International Staff Mobility).

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: 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)

Deadline for applications: 24 November 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:

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.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Ditte Maria Bohn

E-mail:

Ansøgningsfrist:

Ansættelsesdato:

Arbejdstid: Fuldtid

Afdeling/Sted: Department of Immunology and Microbiology