PhD Project in Philosophy of Science: Philosophical Perspectives on Animal Models in Translational Neuroscience
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PhD Project in Philosophy of Science: Philosophical Perspectives on Animal Models in Translational Neuroscience
Section for History and Philosophy of Science
Department of Science Education
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
Application deadline: October 31, 2025, 23.59 CET.
Starting Date: March 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Within the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA), University of Copenhagen is offering one PhD fellowship in Philosophy of Science for a Doctoral Candidate (DC).
The successful applicant will join a multidisciplinary and international MSCA Doctoral Network called TRANSCEND, which will deliver a training program to 13 doctoral candidates from 11 different partner universities. This doctoral position is based at the Section for History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Science Education, at University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and it is a full-time position for 36 months.
The mission of the TRANSCEND doctoral network is to equip doctoral candidates with a "bio-medico-philosophical" mindset, combining critical thinking from the philosophy of science with cutting-edge biomedical research. The PhD project is part of a work package called “Making mechanistic studies more translational”, which aims to achieve scientific breakthroughs through collaborations between experimental neuroscientists, computational modelling, and critical philosophical reflections on methods and concepts.
The project: Philosophical Perspectives on Animal Models in Translational Neuroscience
The aim of the PhD project is to provide a practice-oriented philosophical analysis of the role of animal models in translational research. The research project focuses on neuroscience, where it is often difficult to replace animal models with new alternative methods, such as organoids. The project explores how selected aspects of complex disorders, such as depression, are attempted operationalized into measurable traits and behaviours in animal experiments, as well as how (reverse) translational inferences are also made from mechanistic insights from animal studies to human medicine. Moreover, the project reflects on the implications of different experimental designs for knowledge generation, including efforts to make animal experiments more naturalistic and reduce stress induced by housing conditions or experimental procedures. The project combines theoretical analysis in philosophy of science with empirical analysis, such as ethnographic observation in labs and qualitative interviews with practicing scientists. The thesis should contribute to the existing scholarship in philosophy of science on animal model and animal experimentation, but efforts to engage with practicing scientists for discussion and communication of findings are also expected.
The research questions, methodology, and project plan for the PhD project will be developed together with the supervisors in the project’s initial phase. But candidates are encouraged to suggest a focus area and research questions of specific interest at the application stage, and to include in the application a brief project proposal (see below). The purpose is to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to pose relevant, original, and theoretically engaged questions within a specific area of interest, and to conduct this research through a feasible qualitative approach.
Supervision and secondment
The Doctoral Candidate will be supervised by Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science, Sara Green and co-supervised by Associate Professor, Lisa Genzel, who leads a neuroscience laboratory (Genzel Lab) at Radboud University, NL.
The PhD position offers a secondment (research stay abroad) at the Genzel Lab (approximately 4-6 months) as well as an optional second secondment at the University of Porto, Portugal with Patricia Monteiro, who also leads a neuroscience lab. It is possible to suggest additional co-supervisors. The PhD student will also benefit from feedback from the international research network of the TRANSCEND project, which includes scholars from multiple disciplines, who have expertise in laboratory, clinical, epidemiological, and philosophical research.
Place of employment
The PhD candidate will be based at the Department of Science Education, as part of the Section for History and Philosophy of Science. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science currently have 10 permanent faculty members, as well as postdocs and PhD students working on a variety of interdisciplinary projects.
We offer stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research is primarily dedicated to history and philosophy of science, with a focus on practice-oriented and empirically informed history and philosophy of science, addressing epistemological and ethical aspects of science and its use. The HPS Section offers mandatory courses in philosophy of science to approximately 1000 science students per year and works on the development of teaching strategies and teaching materials in connection to these courses. Our website https://www.ind.ku.dk/english/research/hps/ provides more information on the members of the Section and the research we conduct. We are located centrally in Copenhagen, in the Niels Bohr Building near the central park (Fælledparken).
As part of the PhD education, the candidate will receive teaching training and is expected to contribute to teaching of courses offered by the Department of Science Education, including courses in philosophy of science for biology students.
Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow in this project are to:
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD candidate with the following competencies and experience:
Educational requirements:
Applicants will also be required to meet the European Commission’s MSCA Doctoral Network eligibility criteria, notably:
Employment as a PhD fellow is full time and for a maximum 3 years.
Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, 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 requirements from the European Commission related to the MSCA programme and the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure 2025.
The EU MSCA grant received by the University of Copenhagen consists of a monthly living allowance of EUR 5,325 (approx. DKK 39,603), and a monthly mobility allowance of EUR 710 (approx. DKK 5,280). In addition, a monthly family allowance of EUR 660 (approx. DKK 4,909) may apply if eligibility conditions are fulfilled. Please notice that the monthly salary you will receive will be lower than the above amounts, as these shall cover all costs related to your employment, such as monthly salary, future salary raises, pension, paid holidays, compulsory taxes, and labour market contributions. Depending on seniority, the monthly gross salary (before taxes) starts at approximately 30,800 DKK/roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2025 level) plus pension.
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include:
The deadline for applications is October 31, 2025, 23:59 (GMT +1).
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.
The further process
After the deadline, qualified applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether your application will be selected for assessment.
The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You may read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Online interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held on December 11 and 15, 2025.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the main supervisor Sara Green via email (sara.green@ind.ku.dk) or phone: +45 51331702.
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.
Department of Science Education
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
Application deadline: October 31, 2025, 23.59 CET.
Starting Date: March 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Within the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA), University of Copenhagen is offering one PhD fellowship in Philosophy of Science for a Doctoral Candidate (DC).
The successful applicant will join a multidisciplinary and international MSCA Doctoral Network called TRANSCEND, which will deliver a training program to 13 doctoral candidates from 11 different partner universities. This doctoral position is based at the Section for History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Science Education, at University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and it is a full-time position for 36 months.
The mission of the TRANSCEND doctoral network is to equip doctoral candidates with a "bio-medico-philosophical" mindset, combining critical thinking from the philosophy of science with cutting-edge biomedical research. The PhD project is part of a work package called “Making mechanistic studies more translational”, which aims to achieve scientific breakthroughs through collaborations between experimental neuroscientists, computational modelling, and critical philosophical reflections on methods and concepts.
The project: Philosophical Perspectives on Animal Models in Translational Neuroscience
The aim of the PhD project is to provide a practice-oriented philosophical analysis of the role of animal models in translational research. The research project focuses on neuroscience, where it is often difficult to replace animal models with new alternative methods, such as organoids. The project explores how selected aspects of complex disorders, such as depression, are attempted operationalized into measurable traits and behaviours in animal experiments, as well as how (reverse) translational inferences are also made from mechanistic insights from animal studies to human medicine. Moreover, the project reflects on the implications of different experimental designs for knowledge generation, including efforts to make animal experiments more naturalistic and reduce stress induced by housing conditions or experimental procedures. The project combines theoretical analysis in philosophy of science with empirical analysis, such as ethnographic observation in labs and qualitative interviews with practicing scientists. The thesis should contribute to the existing scholarship in philosophy of science on animal model and animal experimentation, but efforts to engage with practicing scientists for discussion and communication of findings are also expected.
The research questions, methodology, and project plan for the PhD project will be developed together with the supervisors in the project’s initial phase. But candidates are encouraged to suggest a focus area and research questions of specific interest at the application stage, and to include in the application a brief project proposal (see below). The purpose is to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to pose relevant, original, and theoretically engaged questions within a specific area of interest, and to conduct this research through a feasible qualitative approach.
Supervision and secondment
The Doctoral Candidate will be supervised by Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science, Sara Green and co-supervised by Associate Professor, Lisa Genzel, who leads a neuroscience laboratory (Genzel Lab) at Radboud University, NL.
The PhD position offers a secondment (research stay abroad) at the Genzel Lab (approximately 4-6 months) as well as an optional second secondment at the University of Porto, Portugal with Patricia Monteiro, who also leads a neuroscience lab. It is possible to suggest additional co-supervisors. The PhD student will also benefit from feedback from the international research network of the TRANSCEND project, which includes scholars from multiple disciplines, who have expertise in laboratory, clinical, epidemiological, and philosophical research.
Place of employment
The PhD candidate will be based at the Department of Science Education, as part of the Section for History and Philosophy of Science. The Section for History and Philosophy of Science currently have 10 permanent faculty members, as well as postdocs and PhD students working on a variety of interdisciplinary projects.
We offer stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research is primarily dedicated to history and philosophy of science, with a focus on practice-oriented and empirically informed history and philosophy of science, addressing epistemological and ethical aspects of science and its use. The HPS Section offers mandatory courses in philosophy of science to approximately 1000 science students per year and works on the development of teaching strategies and teaching materials in connection to these courses. Our website https://www.ind.ku.dk/english/research/hps/ provides more information on the members of the Section and the research we conduct. We are located centrally in Copenhagen, in the Niels Bohr Building near the central park (Fælledparken).
As part of the PhD education, the candidate will receive teaching training and is expected to contribute to teaching of courses offered by the Department of Science Education, including courses in philosophy of science for biology students.
Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD fellow in this project are to:
- Carry through an independent research project under supervision at the host institution
- Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / 1/2 FTE
- Participate in active research environments, including a stay at one or more research institutions abroad
- Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities (corresponding to approx. 1/2 FTE)
- Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
- Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD candidate with the following competencies and experience:
Educational requirements:
- To be eligible for the 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., in history and philosophy of science, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, science and technology studies, or a related field of study. For information on eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
- Applicants who have previously completed a PhD degree cannot apply for this position.
- Additional training and experience with qualitative methods is strongly preferred.
Applicants will also be required to meet the European Commission’s MSCA Doctoral Network eligibility criteria, notably:
- Mobility Rule - Applicants can be of any nationality and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the start of their employment at UCPH. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered.
- Doctoral Candidate requirement – the applicant must not be in possession of a doctoral degree at the first day of the employment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet been awarded the doctoral degree are not eligible.
- A change of scientific environment (3-6 months) is mandatory for all PhD candidates in Denmark. For this project, secondments are tentatively planned with co-supervisor, Associate Professor Lisa Genzel, at Radboud University, NL (and optionally also the University of Porto, Portugal with Patricia Monteiro).
- Applicants should have a curious mind-set with a strong interest in practice-oriented philosophy of science.
- Applicants should have good English skills, both written and spoken.
- It is desirable to have basic knowledge of or a strong interest in the practices of animal experimentation.
- It is considered an advantage that candidates have an interest in and experience with teaching of philosophy of science-to-science students (e.g., students from biology or chemistry).
- Candidates should be comfortable working in research groups and have an interest in collaborative work.
Employment as a PhD fellow is full time and for a maximum 3 years.
Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, 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 requirements from the European Commission related to the MSCA programme and the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure 2025.
The EU MSCA grant received by the University of Copenhagen consists of a monthly living allowance of EUR 5,325 (approx. DKK 39,603), and a monthly mobility allowance of EUR 710 (approx. DKK 5,280). In addition, a monthly family allowance of EUR 660 (approx. DKK 4,909) may apply if eligibility conditions are fulfilled. Please notice that the monthly salary you will receive will be lower than the above amounts, as these shall cover all costs related to your employment, such as monthly salary, future salary raises, pension, paid holidays, compulsory taxes, and labour market contributions. Depending on seniority, the monthly gross salary (before taxes) starts at approximately 30,800 DKK/roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2025 level) plus pension.
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include:
- Cover letter explaining your qualifications and research focus (max. one page)
- Motivation letter explaining your reasons for applying for this PhD position. The motivation letter should include a suggestion for a potential PhD project, including a motivation for the study, research questions, and methodology. (max. two pages)
- Curriculum vitae including information about your education, work experience (e.g., teaching), language skills, and other skills relevant for the position
- Original diplomas (bachelor’s and master’s degree or equivalent) and a transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation, if issued in a language other 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.
- A writing sample (e.g., master’s thesis or other relevant material)
- Publication list (if available)
- Names and email addresses of two references (reference letters are not required)
The deadline for applications is October 31, 2025, 23:59 (GMT +1).
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the above-mentioned requirements.
The further process
After the deadline, qualified applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether your application will be selected for assessment.
The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You may read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Online interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held on December 11 and 15, 2025.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the main supervisor Sara Green via email (sara.green@ind.ku.dk) or phone: +45 51331702.
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.