Are you passionate about osteoarthritis, biomarker science and precision medicine? Do you thrive at the interface of biomarkers, bioinformatics, and clinical research, and do you enjoy combining computational discovery with hands-on biomarker work in the laboratory?
The position
We are looking for a PhD candidate for a 3-year industrial PhD fellowship at Nordic Bioscience (Herlev, Denmark), co-funded by Innovation Fund Denmark, conducted in collaboration with The Parker Institute (Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark). The project aims to define a new fibro-metabolic endotype of osteoarthritis (OA) and to develop blood-based biomarker signatures that can guide metabolic and weight-targeted treatment of osteoarthritis in patients with overweight.

This is a predominantly computational role. Approximately 75% of your time will be spent on data science, bioinformatics, biostatistics and machine learning, and approximately 25% on organizing and conducting laboratory work, where you contribute to the measurement of the serum biomarkers that feed the analyses.

Project and responsibilities
Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 600 million people worldwide, and obesity and metabolic dysfunction are key modifiable drivers of disease. You will test whether patients with elevated fibro-metabolic biomarkers define distinct fibro-metabolic subtypes of disease, with its own biology, symptoms, trajectories and treatment response, particularly to metabolic and weight-loss interventions such as GLP-1 receptor agonists. You will work across both observational and interventional studies to build the data foundation, discover and characterise the endotype, and demonstrate its clinical actionability.

Key contributions:

• Build and curate a harmonised, multi-study biomarker and clinical OA database, including quality control of serum biomarker measurements across cohorts and trials
• Discover and characterise a fibro-metabolic OA endotypes using clustering and explainable machine learning, integrating novel tissue turnover biomarkers and clinical data
• Assess their relevance in clinical trials. Perform statistical analysis in clinical cohorts
• Write and publish peer-reviewed scientific papers
• Present and promote your research at international conferences, meetings and with stakeholders

As a PhD fellow at Nordic Bioscience, you are expected to manage and conduct your research project in collaboration with your supervisors, across departments, and partners at Parker Institute. You will take PhD courses relevant for the project, participate in national and international congresses and scientific meetings to disseminate your research, write scientific articles, engage in laboratory biomarker work (≈25% of your time), and contribute to project execution activities.

Your Background
The candidate must hold a relevant MSc degree (bioinformatics, biostatistics, data science, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceutical science, medicine or alike), have a grade of at least 10 (or equivalent for foreign educations) in the MSc thesis, and achieve one of these two requirements for grade-point averages:

• Master’s and bachelor’s degree combined: weighted average of at least 8.2 on the 7-point scale
• For a two-year master’s degree alone: weighted average of at least 9.5 on the 7-point scale

Qualifications and key criteria for assessment

• The grades achieved during bachelor/master studies
• Demonstrated experience and interest in bioinformatics, biostatistics and/or machine learning (e.g. R or Python, clustering, regression, mixed-effects models)
• Willingness and interest to in engaging in laboratory biomarker work (≈25% of the project)
• Interest or knowledge in the field of osteoarthritis, rheumatology or metabolic disease
• Knowledge of clinical study design and the analysis of clinical studies is an advantage
• Fluency in English (spoken and written)
• Collaborative mindset and able to work as part of a research team
• Relevant work experience

About the Department
The PhD student will be affiliated with the Rheumatology / ImmunoScience team at Nordic Bioscience, working closely with the company’s Data Science group. The group develops novel blood-based biomarkers of extracellular matrix remodelling that detect early disease activity and treatment response, enabling more effective and personalised patient care. The team collaborates closely with world-leading academic and clinical partners, and high scientific quality, publication output and international conference presence are central to our culture.

Working at Nordic Bioscience
Nordic Bioscience is a science-driven research and development company that aims at providing precision medicine for the future and strong academic environment with more than 30 PhD and post.docs employed. We strive to foster excellence, innovation, and data-driven decision-making in an environment where new inventions and high-quality products go hand in hand with due diligence and reliability. We are motivated by data that provides support of promising new drugs or new hope for better patient care. We off a collaborative environment with engaged colleagues in a growing company making a global fingerprint.

Contact
For further details please contact Christian Thudium, [email protected].

How to apply
Please apply via our online application system. Please upload the following documents for the application:

• Cover letter
• Full CV (max 2 pages), including a list of publications
• Diploma and transcripts of records: master’s degree diploma (including grade transcripts for bachelor’s and master’s degrees). Applicants with a master’s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used.
• Letters of recommendation from relevant and appropriate referees, or the names and contact details of referees (e.g. former supervisors/PIs).
• For applicants whose principal language of instruction during their BSc/MSc was not English or Danish, it is an advantage to include IELTS or TOEFL test scores or equivalent proof of English skills.

Deadline for application is 6 September 2026. Interviews will be conducted ongoingly based on incoming applications. So please send your application as soon as possible.

Application deadline: Apply no later than 6. September 2026

Department: Herlev Hovedgade 205 - 207 2730 Herlev

Location: Herlev (Greater Copenhagen Area)