The Department of Biomedicine at Faculty of Health at Aarhus University invites applications for a position as Postdoc in the field of spatial biology as per 1 April 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is a fixed-term full-time position for 24 months/ 2 years.
 
The department of Biomedicine prioritises diversity and a good work environment, as this is a prerequisite for groundbreaking research. In a diverse and international research environment, dedicated employees are looking to generate new knowledge within biomedical research areas such as infection and inflammation, membranes, neuroscience and personalised medicine. The Department of Biomedicine provides research-based teaching of the highest quality and is responsible for a large part of the medical degree programme. Academic staff contribute to the teaching. English is the preferred language in the laboratory, at meetings and at seminars. The department employs approx. 500 people from all over the world, and they make use of the department's modern laboratory-, core- and animal facilities. The Department of Biomedicine focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration with business and industry, and numerous researchers from the department have established companies to develop new medicinal treatments founded in professional scientific basic research. You can read more about the department here and about the faculty here.

About the research project

Metabolic dysregulation is a feature of all cancer types. The overarching hypothesis for this project is that metabolic changes contribute to the genomic instability and epigenetic reprogramming that occur during cancer development by affecting redox pools and metabolic adducts required to support them.  If so, then in cancer metabolic dysregulation will be a co-evolving property of the disease where co-evolution is defined by the cross-talk between cancer-cell intrinsic drivers (mutations/epigenetic reprogramming) and extrinsic factors (the cellular composition of the tumour microenvironment and the exchange of metabolites between cell types).  These changes will impose stress on cell populations within the tissue and there will be adaptations in signaling pathways to accommodate this.  It is important to develop a detailed picture of the cell types affected by these changes and if possible the temporal sequence in which they occur in order to intervene to restrict cancer progression and ultimately prevent cancer occurrence.

Your job responsibilities

As Postdoc in spatial biology your position is primarily research-based but may also involve teaching assignments. You will contribute to the development of the department through research of high international quality. In your daily work, you will work closely with colleagues on your project, where you will receive supervision and guidance.

Your main tasks will consist of:

• Independent research of high international quality, including publication.

• Establishing and refining multi-modal workflows for integrating and analyzing spatial datasets with a focus on metabolomic and transcriptomic data.

• Performing tissue sectioning, matrix coating of the resultant sections, data acquisition using a Bruker TimsTOF MALDI-2 instrument and downstream feature annotation using Metaboscape and other platforms. 

• Collaborating with the Bioinformatics Core Facility, directed by Associate Professor Per Qvist, and other computational biologists to exemplify the integration of spatial transcriptomic and metabolomic data.

You will report to the Professor Ian Mills/Professor Per Qvist.

Your competences

You have academic qualifications at PhD level, for example within the following areas. You have a background in tissue-based molecular research and experience with tissue sectioning and the generation and analysis of spatial molecular data. Programming expertise in Python and R is preferred.

As a person, you have good interpersonal skills, are inclusive and team-oriented and able to contribute to a good work environment. We expect you to be fluent in oral and written English.

Shortlisting will be used.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Postdoc position, you must meet these academic criteria.

Questions about the position

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Ian Mills/Professor Per Qvist tel.: (+45) 50192006.

Your place of work will be the Department of Biomedicine, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 10, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

We expect to conduct interviews in March 2026.



Terms of employment

• Appointment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.

• Further information on the appointment procedure can be found in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

• The appointment is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).

• Remuneration is in accordance with the above, and the Salary agreement catalogue for staff at Health.

• The yearly base salary for a fulltime postdoc is between DKK 484.214,84 and DKK 538.720,20 depending on the years of working experience after achieved MSc degree. The base salary includes a position related supplement and pension (17.1 %). Additional supplement(s) for special qualifications can be negotiated. Authorisation supplemement(s) will be granted, if relevant for the position. Your local eligible trade union representative at Aarhus University negotiates your salary on your behalf.

• Researchers recruited from abroad are offered a special researcher tax scheme with a lower tax rate.

• Further information on qualification requirements and job description can be found in the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff

Application

Your application must include the following:

• Motivated application

• Curriculum Vitae

• Diploma

• Template for applicant - postdoc

• A list of publications

• A teaching portfolio. We refer to Guideline on the use of teaching portfolios

• A maximum of five of the publications of greatest relevance to the job may be submitted (optional)

• Research plan can be uploaded (optional)

• Coauthor statement(s) can be uploaded (optional)

• References/recommendations can be uploaded separately in the e-recruitment system (optional)

We refer to the faculty’s Guidelines for applicants.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.


International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including assistance with relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about the International Staff Office and the range of services here. Aarhus University also has a Junior Researcher Association and offers career development support. You can read more about these resources here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.


Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/