PhD position for 3 years in stem cell-based disease modelling of Parkinson’s diseases Full-time

PhD Student Position At Novo Nordisk Foundation Center For Stem Cell Medicine

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) at University of Copenhagen is looking for a PhD student to join the research group led by PI Agnete Kirkeby. The position is scheduled to commence on the 1st of July 2026 or in the following months, as per agreement with the chosen candidate. The position as PhD student is for 3 years.

The Kirkeby research team is located at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences of University of Copenhagen. Our group works with stem cell-based models to produce high-quality neuronal, glial, 3D and assembloid models. We use these to develop stem cell transplantation therapies for neurodegenerative disorders as well as to perform disease modelling of CNS diseases in vitro. Our work has a strong translational focus, and we build our research on decade-long experience in clinical translational from bringing the first European pluripotent stem cell therapy for Parkinson's Disease into clinical trial. In our disease modelling projects, we work on Parkinson's disease, Lewy Body dementia, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and models of hypothalamic appetite regulation.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and highly international research environment. Our team at University of Copenhagen currently consists of around 20 team members representing 13 different nationalities. Our students and postdocs always work collaboratively together in teams towards common goals to ensure that no one is left to work alone on a project. Our labs are located in the Center for stem cell medicine (reNEW), placed in modernised research facilities and include state-of-the-art laboratories, pleasant office facilities and access to high-quality core facilities in transcriptomics, imaging, flow cytometry and proteomics.

Job description: We are seeking a highly motivated and ambitious PhD candidate with a strong educational background in the fields of stem cell biology, neuroscience or similar. You will be working on a project to study the effect of pesticides and other environmental toxicants on the development of Parkinson's Disease. This project forms part of a larger Michael J Fox-funded consortium where you will interact closely with toxicologists, epidemiologists, clinicians and chemical analysts to identify new chemicals in our environment which may be linked to the development of Parkinson's Disease. Your part of the project will be to work together with a postdoc on the project to study the effects of the toxicants in a physiologically relevant stem cell model of co-cultured neuronal and glial cells relevant to Parkinson's Disease. You will find yourself working in a highly collaborative environment and will be engaged closely other team members who are also working on in vitro stem cell models for other project.

The technologies you will apply are:

• Culturing and subtype-specific differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into neurons, astrocytes and microglia
• Assessment of neuronal subtypes in the dish through qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry
• Scaling up of stem cell cultures to high-throughput multiwell format for automated analysis
• High-throughput screening of pesticides and toxicants in the dish for assessment of pathology
• Assessment of neuronal function and neuronal network activity in complex mixed neuronal cultures through multi-electrode array (MEA) analysis, calcium imaging, analysis of neurotransmitter release and automated immunofluorescence imaging
• Performing single cell RNA sequencing (Parse platform) and working with bioinformaticians on analysing the data

Key criteria for the assessment of the applicants:

The following requirements for the candidate will be assessed as key criteria for the recruitment.

Mandatory requirements:

• Master's degree related to the subject area of the project e.g. Biology, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Human Biology, Medicine or similar
• Prior experience in stem cell culturing and neural differentiation or working with neuronal or glial cell cultures
• A background in neuroscience research, preferentially in research with neurodegenerative diseases
• Fluency in English, written and spoken.

Positively assessed criteria:

• Prior experience in neuronal, microglial and/or astrocyte differentiation
• Prior experience in high-throughput screening assays and high-content image analysis
• Prior experience in working with assessment of neuronal connectivity, synapse formation or neuronal function (i.e. electrophysiology or MEA)
• Prior experience in qRT-PCR, ICC, confocal imaging and automated image analysis
• Prior experience in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of hiPSCs and hESCs
• Prior experience in single cell RNAseq (wet lab and bioinformatic analysis)

It is expected that you as the candidate will perform an independent research project with a high degree of autonomy in project planning, and that you positively embrace collaborations with other team members on your own project as well as the projects of your colleagues. Overall, it is expected that you contribute actively to a pleasant work environment within the group. A strong academic track record with a productive publication list and positive reviews from previous supervisors, collaborators or mentors will also weigh strongly in the assessment.

Terms of salary, work, and 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 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 Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Candidates from abroad may be eligible to reduced tax payment, according to the Special Tax Scheme for Researchers. More information about this can be found here.

Application procedure: Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking 'Apply now' below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
2. CV incl. education, experience from previous research projects, previous employments, technical skills, language skills and other skills relevant for the position + contact information of two references.
3. Publication list
4. Master of Science diploma and transcript of records.
5. Two reference letters

Contact information: For questions about the project and group, please contact the principal supervisor:

Associate Professor Agnete Kirkeby, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine

e-mail: agnete.kirkeby@sund.ku.dk phone: +45 5168 5353

Application deadline 19 April 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.

Assessment procedure: 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. The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities. You can read about the recruitment process at.