PhD fellowship in Evolutionary Biology at the Globe Institute
Københavns Universitet (KU)
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen
We are offering a PhD fellowship in Evolutionary Biology commencing 1 February 2025 or as soon as possible hereafter.
Our group and research
Palaeogenomics has revolutionised our understanding of human population history by analysing thousands of human genomes from skeletal remains. Unfortunately, this requires destructive sampling of such remains and can conflict with descendant communities' values and heritage conservation policies. To circumvent these limitations, we are using a novel DNA source: ancient quids.
We are analysing quid DNA from the Americas, where evolutionary history is understudied, skeletal remains are rare and destructive sampling is limited. Using quid DNA, we aim at reconstructing the genomic history of Indigenous Americans, their past lifeways, and their health. Throughout this project we will focus on the latter by reconstructing and characterising the chewers' oral microbiome, and exploring how this complex microbial community changed in connection with the initial peopling of the continent by Ice Age hunter-gatherers, the rise of complex agricultural societies and their demise during European colonisation.
The PhD fellow will be part of a newly established research group led by Assistant Prof. J. Víctor Moreno Mayar, funded by Villum Fonden and the European Research Council, within the Globe Institute Section for GeoGenetics.
Project description
The PhD project will have two components:
- Laboratory work aimed at generating high-throughput oral microbiome DNA sequencing data from ancient quids
- Computational analyses of the data using metagenomics, phylogenetic, population genomics and functional pathway reconstruction tools
By integrating data from multiple proxy species, we will trace the evolutionary history of Indigenous Americans and their oral microbiome through key historical transitions.
Principal supervisor
Prof. Eske Willerslev.
Globe Institute, Section for GeoGenetics.
Co-supervisor
Assistant Prof. José Víctor Moreno Mayar.
Globe Institute, Section for GeoGenetics.
Start: 1 February 2025
Duration: 3 years as a PhD student
Job description
Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:
- Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.
- Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
- Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
- Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project
- Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
- Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project
Key criteria for the assessment of applicants
Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Evolutionary or Computational Biology. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
The ideal candidate will have a curious mindset a strong background in bioinformatics, interest in the evolutionary history of Indigenous Americans and direct experience in:
- processing and mapping of high-throughput sequencing data
- writing code (in python or an equivalent language) to automate analyses of high-throughput sequencing data aimed at obtaining evolutionary insights
- mining large genomic databases
- performing large scale population genomics or metagenomic analyses
- processing and conducting analyses of palaeogenomic data
Other important criteria include:
- experience working in an interdisciplinary research group
- experience organising institutional activities
- proficiency in the English language, both written and spoken
- the grade point average achieved
Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Globe Institute, Section for GeoGenetics,(Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350, Copenhagen) Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include state-of-the-art core facilities including dedicated ancient DNA clean labs, modern DNA labs, an automated pipeline for DNA extraction and sequencing, and a constantly-expanding computer cluster.
About Globe Institute
The Globe Institute is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The Institute’s main purpose is to address basic scientific questions through interdisciplinary approaches. The institute operates at the intersection of natural and medical sciences and the humanities. Information on the institute can be found at: https://www.globe.ku.dk/.
The Globe Institute is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment where employees and students can belong and thrive. See website
for more information. All qualified applicants will receive full consideration. Candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or service, contribute to diversity and competencies of our Institute are encouraged to apply. The University of Copenhagen strives to offer a family friendly and flexible working environment with a sustainable balance between work- and private life, including parental leave schemes (up to 47 weeks for both parents) and up to six weeks of paid holidays per year. The university offers a variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families
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 February 2025.
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 (2013) 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. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 30,700 DKK/Roughly 4,110 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.
General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/
Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:
- Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
- CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
- Publication list (if possible)
- 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.
Application deadline: 16 October 2024, 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: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/
The applicants 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 47
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 10.000 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.
Info
Ansøgningsfrist: 16-10-2024
Ansættelsesdato: 01-02-2025
Arbejdstid: Fuldtid
Afdeling/Sted: GLOBE Institute
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