The PandemiX Center of Excellence and the Department of People and Technology at Roskilde University, Denmark, invite applications for an interdisciplinary PhD fellowship in Pandemiology and Misinformation from 1st of October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is open to candidates with a strong background within health & society or in mathematical and computational modeling and with an interest to apply these skills to key topics in “pandemiology”. The position as PhD is limited to a period of three years.

The position will be supervised by either Professor Mari Holen or Associate Professor Jens Ulrik Hansen at Roskilde University’s Department of People and Technology and co-supervised by Professor Lone Simonsen, Professor and Center Leader of PandemiX, also at Roskilde University.

This unique interdisciplinary research opportunity offers an exciting opportunity for the scientific study of misinformation about contemporary pandemics and pandemic responses. With this PhD position we hope to augment the Center’s research with expertise in interdisciplinary research that focuses on the phenomenon of misinformation and pandemics and how medical knowledge is produced, spread, used, controlled and mitigated at (inter)national, regional and/or local level. The COVID-19 pandemic and its management showed that the relationship between medical knowledge, mathematical models, politics and people's varying everyday lives is interconnected. Not only was this evident in how different countries and their authorities chose to handle COVID-19, but also in how government recommendations were received by citizens with different livelihoods and trust in authorities and medical knowledge in general. How different citizens are affected by and relate to epidemics and its countermeasures is important knowledge for authorities and can have a major effect on the spread and health impact

Description of the PhD project
The successful candidate will be working scientifically at the Department of People and Technology as well as two days a week at the PandemiX Center, engaging with the interdisciplinary research team there. The project description shall be formulated in close relation to one of the following two themes:

1. Misinformation as knowledge practices (theme 1; qualitative or mixed methods study)
   The aim of the PhD-project is to explore how concepts such as “misinformation” and “non- compliance” are spread and enacted in Bio-Societies, and how they are understood by health authorities and different groups of activists and becomes part of a health crisis. The PhD project is to examine how biomedical knowledge, political og embodied practices shape health crises and make some knowledge relevant and other parts less relevant, and to investigate practices of assessing biomedical knowledge among researchers, politicians, and different groups of citizens. How are these practices separate and in which ways are they entangled, and with what kind of consequences for health recommendations, for research and for citizens?
2. Computational modeling of the spread of pandemic misinformation. (theme2; quantitative study)
   The aim of the PhD-project is to develop computational models of the spread of (mis)information about pandemics, such as agent-based models, social network models, machine learning models, or similar types. Moreover, the project will investigate how such models can be compared and synchronized with models of disease diffusion. Finally, the project may also validate the models against pandemic and social media data (partly already collected at Roskilde University). Having such models will allow us to study how the spread of misinformation can foster resistance to social control measures and vaccines, and how such resistance propagates on social media. This knowledge will further be useful in designing mitigation strategies, such as lockdowns of schools and public events, and vaccination programs, as well as communication about such strategies in potential future pandemics.

Regardless of the theme chosen, the proposed project should be solidly anchored in an interdisciplinary approach. The research project is expected to apply selected theory to the analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data to develop an understanding of the object of study. The research will to some extent be relevant also in the context of the current evaluation of Denmark’s national COVID-19 response as requested by the Danish Parliament.

The project is ideally relevant for both the Department of People and Technology and the PandemiX Center of Excellence. There will be opportunities for international research exchanges with relevant colleagues abroad. The PandemiX Center is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation and aims to investigate signature features of pathogens with pandemic potential, including historical outbreaks, to better prepare for the identification and control of future pandemics. The Center is physically located at the Statens Serum Institute (SSI) in Copenhagen.

As teaching obligations are closely related to the department’s research activities it attaches high importance to methodological skills and is characterized by its multidisciplinary nature. Read more about the Department of People and Technology here

The Doctoral School
You will be enrolled as a PhD fellow at the Doctoral School of People and Technology which has approximately 60 PhD fellows. The Doctoral School offers work-in-progress seminars, thematic professional development seminars, PhD courses, feedback, and social activities for the enrolled PhD fellows. As a PhD fellow, you will also be part of a research group.

For more information about the Doctoral School contact Head of PhD School at the Department of People and Technology, Associate Professor Sine Lehn (slehn@ruc.dk).

Responsibilities and tasks
The PhD position is an educational position, and the main tasks are in accordance with Chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions.

Conduct research on a topic within the health & society or computational science domain, which is also relevant to the study of contemporary pandemics.

Participate in an active interdisciplinary research environment, including collaboration with international partners and active participation in international conferences.

Participate in PandemiX research activities and summer schools, including presenting key findings and exchanging ideas with Center colleagues who represent other fields in this interdisciplinary environment.

Complete relevant PhD courses, equivalent to approximately 30 ECTS.

Engage in teaching at the Department of People and Technology and discuss and disseminate knowledge at conferences and meetings.

Write and defend a PhD thesis based on the research project.

Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent that is relevant to either the qualitative or quantitative proposed project. Qualifications within the following areas are required:

• Interest in pursuing research that matches part of the existing research environment at the Department of People and Technology.
• Interest in understanding pandemics in the context of contemporary society.
• Excellent communication skills in both written and oral English.
• Excellent language skills of relevance to the proposed PhD research.

We also emphasize the following:

Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

Ability to carry out independent research.

Publication records (if applicable).

Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment, consideration will be given to:

Relevant master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education).

Publication record.

Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.

In the assessment regarding enrollment, consideration will also be given to the following criteria:

Educational skills and any further professional qualifications

Grades at Master’s program or equivalent.

Quality and relevance of the project description.

Considerations regarding theory and methodology shall be included in your project description.

Your project description shall be no more than 4 pages (2400 characters), incl. spaces (excl. references).

Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices.

Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory.

Feasibility of the proposed PhD project.

Ability to complete the PhD project.

Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School and one of the PhD programmes: PhD programme Health and Society or PhD programme in Information Technology

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Professor Lone Simonsen (lonesimo@ruc.dk), or Professor Mari Holen (holen@ruc.dk) about theme 1 or Associate Professor Jens Ulrik Hansen (jensuh@ruc.dk) about theme 2.

Terms of employment
The employment is full time, 37 hours per week, and you will refer to Peter Kjær, Head of department, Department of People and Technology.

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application

To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/

Only applications in English or Danish are accepted.

Applications must include:

1. Cover letter

2. CV

3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent

4. Your description of the PhD project

Please submit your application no later than August 10, 2025.

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.