Industrial PhD candidate in 3D (3 Dimensional) Imaging and Parkinson Disease

Tissue Research       ·      Hørsholm      ·       Full time

We are looking for a highly skilled student to run a fully funded PhD project in Parkinson’s disease. The project, which is a collaboration between Gubra, and the University of Aarhus is specifically designed to increase our understanding of how Parkinson’s disease develops in the mouse brain over time. The successful applicant will be using state of the art 3D imaging to visualize the various stages of disease progression and hopefully find ways to slow down or even prevent the development of the disease.

Gubra is an ambitious biotech company striving for excellence at all levels. We focus on doing things efficiently with high quality and in new innovative ways, to reach the results we aim for. Our vision is to become leaders in the fight for a healthier and more sustainable world. We do that by facilitating the discovery of new medicines (serious diseases and unmet medical needs) – often in collaboration with big Pharma and biotech around the world. In addition, Gubra act and inspire others to fight against the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises.

The Tissue Research department consists of a competent and dedicated team of researchers and laboratory technicians, and we are primarily occupied with high-end 3D imaging and histology on many different organs and tissues such as brain, liver, kidney, heart, lung, adipose tissue etc. Tissue Research support our contract research organization (CRO) as well as our early target and drug discovery programs.

The project is performed in Tissue Research at Gubra and in collaboration with The Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory, Aarhus University. The PhD student will be enrolled at the Faculty of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE), Aarhus University.

As PhD student you will: 

• Conduct 3D imaging within mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.
• Design and perform studies including the in vivo part of the study. 
• Work in a multi-disciplinary environment within 3D imaging, computational biology, histology, in vivo pharmacology, as well as with external partners. 
• Operate light sheet microscopes.
• Work in our laboratory using whole organ immunolabeling and tissue clearing.
• Operate laboratory robots.
• Collaborate with scientists and technicians within Tissue Research, across the organization as well as external research laboratories.
• Perform data analysis, interpretation, and reporting of study results and author scientific papers.
• Participate in internal innovation fora and idea generation.
• Present research data at international conferences.

Professional qualifications: 

• A relevant life science degree (e.g., MSc in biology, biomedicine, human biology).  
• A scientific understanding of the relevant disease area – neurodegenerative diseases. 
• Hands-on experience with fluorescence microscopy is an advantage.  
• Preferably experience with rodent models and histology.
• FELASA certified with function A/B/D is an advantage.
• Experience with literature search and scientific writing. 
• The PhD candidate must meet the criteria described by the Innovation Fund Denmark: have a grade of at least 10 (or equivalent for foreign educations) in the thesis/final project. The criteria are available the from Guidelines: Industrial PhD chapter 1.6 (LINK).

As a person you are: 

• Self-motivated and keen to take on responsibility. 
• Curious by nature, motivated by data and not afraid of technical challenges.  
• Proactive and able to start, focus and deliver on tasks and projects.  
• A true team player and eager to contribute to all workflows in and outside the department.  
• Able to navigate and collaborate in an energetic and rapidly changing organization.

Please apply no later than September 15th, 2022, by uploading your motivated cover letter, resume and relevant diplomas on our website. Additionally, please fill out and upload the excel file “Calculation sheet, industrial PhD [XLS]” which can be found on the Innovation Fund Denmark homepage (LINK) when you apply.

We will invite candidates for interviews from medio September. If you have questions about the position, please contact supervisor Henrik Björk Hansen (hbh@gubra.dk) or Senior Department Manager Erik Max Wullf (emw@gubra.dk).

About Gubra

Gubra is a company with a very dynamic and fast-paced drive. We have two primary areas of business: Preclinical contract research (CRO) services, and Proprietary early target and drug discovery programs.

We are a biotech company delivering science to our partners and to our own research projects. We are active in the so-called pre-clinical space – before drugs are tested in humans – and generate our revenue by performing research for small and large pharma companies.

Our focus is within the metabolic space (obesity, diabetes, NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), and diabetic complications), where we specialize in in vivo pharmacology, peptide chemistry, molecular pharmacology, histology, stereology, imaging, NGS (next generation sequencing), bioinformatics and assays. We work with some of the most interesting and loyal partners and customers from across the world within big pharma, biotech, and academia. Through a constant focus on high quality, scientific excellence, speed, and solid teamwork we have proven ourselves as a highly professional and competent partner in the market.

People are our greatest asset, and our team consists of +180 employees all located in Hørsholm, Denmark. The mix of people from diverse cultures and educational backgrounds combined with our entrepreneurial mindset have greatly impacted our working environment, which is characterized by intensive drive, scientific curiosity, and teamwork – we join forces!

Please click here to apply.