Postdoc in RNA Vaccine Design and Delivery at Department of Pharmacy
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Postdoc in RNA Vaccine Design and Delivery at Department of Pharmacy
We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic postdoc for a 2-year position to commence April 1st-2026.
The post doc´s duties will primarily be research, including obligations with regard to publication/scientific communication and grant writing within the area of vaccine design and delivery, and research-based teaching. The position is financed by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences via the research project “Decoding Coexisting Particle Populations in Lipid Nanoparticles for Enhanced mRNA Delivery”.
Information on the department can be found at: https://pharmacy.ku.dk/
Our research
The Vaccine Design and Delivery group is a research group within the Department of Pharmacy led by Professor Camilla Foged. The group aims to gain new fundamental knowledge that can enable design, optimization and development of novel advanced delivery systems capable of delivering loaded biopharmaceuticals to the intended target site(s). We address the complex challenges associated with formulation and targeted delivery of vaccines and nucleic acid-based therapeutics, in particular RNA vaccines. We are an established group and will increase in size in the near future to form a team with 2-3 postdoctoral researchers and 4-5 PhD students. Personal and professional development are key ambitions, which reinforce our team approach to our science. We value individual input and opinion to help the team to grow. The group’s focus is on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding design criteria for nanoparticle-based delivery systems for RNA drugs, in particular RNA vaccines and oligonucleotides. This includes design, manufacture and physicochemical characterization of advanced next-generation RNA delivery systems. We also focus on in vitro testing, in vivo imaging of biodistribution, and in vivo immunogenicity and protection studies in animal models. We have a special interest in mucosal delivery of vaccines to induce mucosal immunity that can protect against infection and transmission. We also focus on designing thermostable vaccines that can be stored and distributed independently of a cold chain.
Your job
The overall aim of the project is to reveal the relationship between composition, structure and function of coexisting populations in therapeutic LNPs. The post doc will be employed with the aim of achieving this goal. More specifically, your tasks would be to: i) separate and characterise the structure of coexisting particle populations, ii) investigate the biological function of LNP populations, and iii) engineer the composition of LNP for increasing the proportion of functional particles. The post doc is expected to teach up to 10% of the time and contribute to the supervision of master students. The postdoc is expected to travel for experiments at large scale facilities.
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:
Essential experience and skills:
The place of employment is at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and UCPH core facilities provide access to state-of-the-art equipment.
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 2 years. The starting date is April 1st 2026 or after agreement.
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. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 35,000 DKK/approx. 4,700 EUR (October 2021 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % 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 2020.
Questions
For further information please contact Prof. Camilla Foged; camilla.foged@sund.ku.dk; www.sund.ku.dk
Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).
Application procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:
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. 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 can read about the recruitment process at http://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 8.
The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.
The post doc´s duties will primarily be research, including obligations with regard to publication/scientific communication and grant writing within the area of vaccine design and delivery, and research-based teaching. The position is financed by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences via the research project “Decoding Coexisting Particle Populations in Lipid Nanoparticles for Enhanced mRNA Delivery”.
Information on the department can be found at: https://pharmacy.ku.dk/
Our research
The Vaccine Design and Delivery group is a research group within the Department of Pharmacy led by Professor Camilla Foged. The group aims to gain new fundamental knowledge that can enable design, optimization and development of novel advanced delivery systems capable of delivering loaded biopharmaceuticals to the intended target site(s). We address the complex challenges associated with formulation and targeted delivery of vaccines and nucleic acid-based therapeutics, in particular RNA vaccines. We are an established group and will increase in size in the near future to form a team with 2-3 postdoctoral researchers and 4-5 PhD students. Personal and professional development are key ambitions, which reinforce our team approach to our science. We value individual input and opinion to help the team to grow. The group’s focus is on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding design criteria for nanoparticle-based delivery systems for RNA drugs, in particular RNA vaccines and oligonucleotides. This includes design, manufacture and physicochemical characterization of advanced next-generation RNA delivery systems. We also focus on in vitro testing, in vivo imaging of biodistribution, and in vivo immunogenicity and protection studies in animal models. We have a special interest in mucosal delivery of vaccines to induce mucosal immunity that can protect against infection and transmission. We also focus on designing thermostable vaccines that can be stored and distributed independently of a cold chain.
Your job
The overall aim of the project is to reveal the relationship between composition, structure and function of coexisting populations in therapeutic LNPs. The post doc will be employed with the aim of achieving this goal. More specifically, your tasks would be to: i) separate and characterise the structure of coexisting particle populations, ii) investigate the biological function of LNP populations, and iii) engineer the composition of LNP for increasing the proportion of functional particles. The post doc is expected to teach up to 10% of the time and contribute to the supervision of master students. The postdoc is expected to travel for experiments at large scale facilities.
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:
Essential experience and skills:
- You have a PhD within the subject area - physico-chemical background with interest in biomaterials and nanomedicine and basic knowledge in cell biology,
- You are highly experienced in planning and performing small angle x-ray scattering experiments
- You have experience in the analysis of scattering data
- You have an active interest in writing grant applications
- Proficient communication skills and ability to work in teams
- Excellent English skills written and spoken
- Knowledge of separation methods for nanoparticles, such as Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation
- Experience on writing beamtime proposals
- Experience with fluorescence microscopy and cryo-TEM
- Experience with the design and formulation of lipid-based nanoparticles
- The appointee should have qualifications within at least some of the following areas: Experimentally oriented scientist, advanced drug delivery, delivery of biopharmaceuticals.
The place of employment is at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and UCPH core facilities provide access to state-of-the-art equipment.
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 2 years. The starting date is April 1st 2026 or after agreement.
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. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 35,000 DKK/approx. 4,700 EUR (October 2021 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % 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 2020.
Questions
For further information please contact Prof. Camilla Foged; camilla.foged@sund.ku.dk; www.sund.ku.dk
Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).
Application procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:
- Motivated letter of application (max. one page).
- CV incl. education, work/research experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position.
- A certified/signed copy of a) PhD certificate and b) Master of Science certificate. If the PhD is not completed, a written statement from the supervisor with the expected completion date is required.
- List of publications.
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. 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 can read about the recruitment process at http://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 8.
The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.