PhD fellowship in Veterinary Virology

Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

 

We are offering a PhD fellowship in Veterinary Virology commencing 1st of February 2027.

Our group and research
Forskningsgruppen udfører forskning og undervisning inden for områderne enzootiske og zoonotiske virusinfektioner hos dyr. Forskningen vil de kommende år fokuseres på influenza infektioner i dyr, med fokus på zoonotiske aspekter af svine influenza virus. Gruppen bestå pt af ca. 20 forskere, phd studerende, studentermedhjælpere og 2 andre labornater. Vi har altid meget travlt, men har et godt arbejdsmiljø med masser af humor, kageklub og fleksible arbejdsopgaver og hvor alle hjælper alle.

The research group for Veterinary and Zoonotic Virology consists of around 20 members and as the name states work on both veterinary and zootonic viruses with a main focus on swine influenza A virus. We utilize different molecular methods such viral isolation in cells, qPCR/PCR, sequencing, ELISA and different immunological assays. The research group is very social and we have journal club, cake and breakfast club and Friday bars etc.

Project description
The PhD project will be on cross-reactive vaccines for swine influenza A virus. The first part of the project will be focussed on establishing immunological assays in the laboratory and generating hyperimmune serum in pigs experimentally for following antigenic characterization of Danish swine influenza A virus. The second part of the PhD will be on selecting representative vaccine strains testing them first experimentally in pigs and afterwards in the field.

Principal supervisor is Professor Lars Erik Larsen, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, lael@sund.ku.dk, phone:  +4540998434

Start:                  1 February 2027

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

PhD Programme Description:
The PhD programme is a three-year full-time research education within the framework of the 5+3 scheme, intended for candidates holding a relevant academic degree within the project’s subject area (e.g., [relevant degrees]).

Qualifications:
If you have completed your academic education in Denmark, the admission to the PhD programme requires a relevant Master’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS BSc + 120 ECTS MSc).

If you have an academic education from abroad, you must have either a degree equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ETCS + 120 ECTS MSc), or at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) and be academically qualified at master's level.

As part of the assessment of whether you meet the educational requirements, you must also achieve a positive academic evaluation and be assessed as the best qualified for the position.

Other important criteria are:

• The grade point average achieved
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Previous publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other professional activities
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in veterinary virology
• Language skills

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 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 the project will be carried out in collaboration with Statens Serum Institute, Landbrug og Fødevarer and Ceva Animal Health.

Terms of 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 start date is 1st of February 2027 or after agreement.

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 Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 27,800 DKK/Roughly 3,700 EUR (October 2021 level) plus pension.

You can read more about salary levels in the state sector www.loenoverblik.dk (in Danish).

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: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/phd/guidelines/

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, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. 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. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/find-assessments/assessment-database. Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

4. Publication list (if possible)

Application deadline:  [Wednesday 4 November 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: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

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 wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.