PhD fellowship in Stem Cell Biology at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology Full-time

PhD Fellowship in Stem Cell Biology

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen is offering a PhD fellowship in Stem Cell Biology commencing September 1st 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Our research aims at understanding the role of dysfunctions in lipid homeostasis in the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Our approach consists in identifying, using biological models, lipid changes associated with these diseases and/or their risk factors and in using biophysical methods to provide at the molecular level the mechanism by which these lipid changes can influence functional protein-membrane interactions and protein aggregation. The different biological models that we consider vary in their complexity and include patient derived cells and brain materials. Our interdisciplinary research involves an international collaborative network including neuroscientists, stem cell biologists, biochemists, protein biophysicists and experts in lipidomics and proteomics.

The main methods/techniques that we routinely use in the laboratory include molecular biology, recombinant protein production/purification; characterisation of protein, protein-membrane interactions and self/co-assembly using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, calorimetry, electron microscopy; lipids extraction and characterisation using mass spectrometry; cell culture (established and iPS cell lines), Immunocytochemistry, Western Blot, qPCR; organelle and ex-vivo material isolation.

We are an international group of 8 PhD students/post-doc/MSc and exchange students with expertise in protein and lipid biophysics, stem cell biology, biochemistry and proteomics.

Project description We are looking for an outstanding and passionate scientist who has a strong background in human pluripotent stem cell biology. This PhD project aims at exploring approaches to revert changes in lipid metabolism associated with genetic risk factors for Parkinson's Disease in induced pluripotent stem cell derived dopaminergic neurons. Your task will involve knocking down / out genes encoding for specific enzymes in lipid metabolism and to assess its effect on lipid and pathological protein levels in healthy and Parkinson's Disease patient's neuronal cells. The stem cells from the healthy controls and patients with Parkinson's Disease are available and banked in our laboratory.

The project is funded by a Novo Nordisk Ascending Investigator grant and involves an established collaboration with the laboratory of Agnete Kirkeby (ReNew, Copenhagen) and Kristine Freude (Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Copenhagen).

Principal supervisor is Dr. Céline Galvagnion, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Email: celine.galvagnion@sund.ku.dk, Direct Phone: +45 3533 7828.

Start: September 1st, 2026

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. stem cell biology, neuroscience, molecular biology, biochemistry. Please note that your master's degree must be equivalent to a Danish master's degree (two years).

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant work experience
• Previous publications
• The grade point average achieved
• Other professional activities
• A curious mindset with a strong interest in stem cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, lipid metabolism
• Language skills

Place of employment The place of employment is at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, 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 modern laboratories and stem cell facilities.

Terms of employment The average 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 September 1st 2026.

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.

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 31,243 DKK/Roughly 4,175 EUR (November 2025 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.

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
• 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. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master's degree must be equivalent to a Danish master's degree.
• Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline: 20 May 2026, 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.

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.