The Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, invites applications for a position as PhD fellow. The position is limited to a period of 3 years (full-time studies) with expected starting date on the 15th of October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
 

The PhD stipend is announced in open competition, by announcing two interdisciplinary PhD projects for which one successful candidate will be selected. The Department has a strategic focus on strengthening the interdisciplinary research collaboration between our main areas and the outlined projects are selected to support promising new interdisciplinary research topics at the Department. 
 

A. Synergetic degradation of (per)fluorinated pharmaceuticals in wastewater by electrochemistry and aquatic worms.
Chemistry / Molecular and Medical Biology / Environmental Science (Supervisors: Frederik Diness, Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi and Henriette Selck).

Fluorinated organic compounds (FOCs), including PFAS and PFOS, pose significant health risks to all living organisms due to their environmental persistence and bioaccumulation. The stabile nature of FOCs is on the other hand beneficial for enhancing in vivo metabolic resistance of pharmaceuticals why about 20 % of these today is fluorinated. In this project we aim to develop methods for degradation of PFAS drugs using electrochemistry combined with biodegradation. The project will involve chemical synthesis of simple FOCs and exploration of electrochemical reactions of these. Characterization of the products will be undertaken using the NMR. The biodegradation assays will be conducted using laboratory models of wastewater treatment plants. The detailed characterization of the metabolites of FOCs will be undertaken using LCMS. We invite all candidates with a relevant MSc degree, an interest in the project and an interdisciplinary mindset to apply for the position.

B. Predicting the development of thyroid disease in patients and optimizing therapies – mathematical modeling in human health and disease.
Mathematics and Physics / Molecular and Medical Biology (Supervisors: Johnny Ottesen, John Shorter, Louise Dalgaard and Morten Andersen). 

Thyroid hormones (TH) play a critical role for metabolism, growth, and tissue differentiation and thyroid disorders are common and often require lifelong hormone replacement. The general aims of the PhD project are to stratify different relevant patient groups and develop a mathematical model incorporating biological mechanisms of the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis in a flexible framework, for use in the identification of biological parameters with uncertainty quantification associated with each patient group and their relation to thyroid disease comorbidities. A personalized mathematical model such as this could potentially identify mechanisms suitable for efficiently intervein pathologies in silico, identify obstacles hindering potentially efficient therapy, and can be used to address the role of patient heterogeneity in response to standard care. Available to the PhD fellow is a large collection of patient data, encompassing longitudinal measurements of thyroid hormones, diseases diagnosed, high density genotyping data, treatments, gender, age, etc. Statistical epidemiology and bioinformatics will be used to characterize the essential groups (patient, gender, age, etc.) characterizing the data. 

The project is interdisciplinary in nature, so we seek a candidate interested and skilled in mathematical modeling, data science, genetics and medical biology. Applicants must hold a MSc degree in Mathematics or a related field and preferably possess knowledge of one or more of the following areas: dynamical systems, Bayesian inference, machine learning methods, and statistical epidemiology. Proficiency in programming with MATLAB, Python, or Julia is essential. Ideally, the candidate should also have some knowledge of biology - such as human genetics - and experience with biological experiments or with clinical data. For the right candidate laboratory experiments can also be part of the PhD

The Doctoral School
The successful candidates will be enrolled in the Doctoral School of Science and Environment in accordance with the rules issued by the Ministry of Technology and Science and additional regulations issued by Roskilde University. The PhD students will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish confederation of Professional Associations). The Doctoral School of Science and Environment is an international graduate school that covers a broad range of research topics within the areas of science and environment. 
Read more here https://ruc.dk/doctoral-school-science-and-environment

Department of Science and Environment is one of four departments at Roskilde University. The Department conducts basic and applied research within chemistry, physics, medical biology, molecular biology, environmental sciences and mathematics. Bachelor programs are offered within these areas, as are interdisciplinary Master programs. The Department’s laboratories are equipped with modern infra-structure and shared state-of-the art instrumentation. This includes recently acquired NMR, mass spectrometry (LC- and GC-MS, including high-resolution measurements and proteomics), and microscopy (AFM, confocal and fluorescence) instruments, microscope with cold stage, rate freezer and climate cabinets, GMO class 2 labs, flow cytometry, NGS, Q-PCR facilities together with calorimetry (ITC and DSC), chromatography (HPLC), and scattering (DLS, SAXS) instruments. For environmental science research is TOC, AAS FTIR, ICP MS, GC MS, HPLC, CHNS elemental analyzer, Ion chromatograph, FIA and electronic particle counters i.e., Coulter counters also available. As a PhD fellow, you will be associated with the research groups and get access to instrumentation of your main and co-supervisors.

Read more here https://ruc.dk/en/department-science-and-environment

Responsibilities and tasks
The PhD position is an educational position and the main tasks are in accordance with chapter 3, Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions (https://ufm.dk/en/legislation/prevailing-laws-and-regulations/education/files/engelsk-ph-d-bekendtgorelse.pdf)

Qualifications
You must hold a master’s degree or equivalent within the relevant fields as indicated above, and in addition fulfil the required qualifications indicated as part of the specific project. 

You are required to have good communication skills and, to be a visible, involved participant in the Department’s daily activities, in addition to being willing to engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration across the Department.

Assessment
In the assessment regarding employment consideration will be given to:

• Relevant Master’s degree or equivalent (according to Danish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/transparency-tools/qualifications-frameworks/other-qualifications-frameworks/danish-qf-for-higher-education?set_language=en&cl=en).
• Any additional academic requirements stated in the job advertisement.

In the assessment, regarding enrolment consideration will also be given to the following criteria:

• Educational skills and any further professional qualifications
• Grades at Master’s programme or equivalent
• Your description of the Ph.D. project – Here you describe in which direction you would like to work and how your qualifications fit into the project (a maximum of two pages).
  • Quality and relevance of the project description
  • Quality and relevance of the methodical and theoretical choices
• Consistency and coherence between the problem and the choice of method and theory
• If the PhD project seem realistic and feasible
• Ability to complete the PhD project
• Relevance of the project to the profile of the Doctoral School

A PhD position will be offered to the candidate fulfilling the requirements and expectations to the highest degree.

Questions
For further information about the positions, please contact Dean Susanne Sørensen on tel (+45) 4674 2111 or susa@ruc.dk or Head of Doctoral School Henriette Selck on tel (+45) 46742983 or selck@ruc.dk.

Terms of employment
The employment is on full time with 37 hours a week and you will refer to Dean Susanne Sørensen.

The position will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure 
After the deadline for applications the Dean will shortlist applicants for assessment with assistance from the recruitment committee including the chairperson of the assessment committee.

Shortly after the application deadline all applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected for assessment.

The shortlisted applicants will be informed about the composition of the assessment committee, and each applicant will be given the opportunity to comment on the composition of the committee and - later on - their assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed, all applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application 
To apply for the position go to www.ruc.dk/en/job/ 

Only applications in English are accepted. 

Applications must include: 

1. Cover letter clearly indicating which of the projects are being addressed
2. CV
3. Documentation of education including grades from Master’s programme or equivalent
4. Your description of the Ph.D. project – Here you describe in which direction you would like to work and how your qualifications fit into the project (approximately two pages at maximum).
5. Your time schedule of the PhD project
6. Letters of recommendation
7. If applicable: Documentation for any research experience, work experience or publications

Please submit your application no later than 18th of August 2025. 

Material received after this date will not be taken into consideration. 

Roskilde University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.