[Careers, Training, Awards and Funding] Faculty and Other positions

DANDRITE and the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine invite candidates for the position as Group Leader in Neuroscience

DANDRITE - the Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience and the Danish node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine - performs basic and translational research in neuroscience and brain disorders. We aim at unraveling the mechanisms that explain cellular communication and computation networks in brain circuitries, and how these are affected in neurodevelopment and neurological and psychiatric disorders.
DANDRITE was established in 2013 with financial support from the Lundbeck Foundation and is hosted by Aarhus University, an international, top-ranking university.
We now invite outstanding candidates for the position as Group Leader with an initial 5-year appointment and the opportunity for a 4-year extension following the EMBL model. The position comes with an attractive start-up package, access to state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, and an affiliation as DANDRITE-AIAS fellow at the Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies, plus ample opportunities to engage with a wide and inspiring interdisciplinary and international research community.
DANDRITE expects to recruit one or two new group leaders via this call.
The positions are available from January 1st or as soon possible hereafter.
Group Leader position with an attractive start-up package
The new Group Leader will establish an independent research programme within the fields of molecular, cellular, and translational neuroscience. For this call, we encourage applications from candidates with programmes in brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders of the nervous system. However, we welcome all applicants with strong neuroscience programmes to apply.
The new Group Leader is expected to introduce novel topics and tools, strengthen synergies of ongoing DANDRITE research, and build a programme at the international level that can also support collaborations of interdisciplinary and translational neuroscience within Danish and international neuroscience. The new Group Leader is offered an attractive start package of EUR 1.6M for the first five years and further funding can be expected from national and international funding bodies including a significant presence of private foundations supporting basic and translational research in Denmark. Specific support programmes are available for collaborations with other neuroscience communities in Denmark and for capital investments in equipment.
The Danish Node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership
DANDRITE is the Danish node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, which is a joint venture between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Universities of Helsinki/Finland, Oslo/Norway, Umea/Sweden, and Aarhus/Denmark. The four nodes of the Partnership adhere to the EMBL model for research organization, training, and evaluation, and are primarily organized by Group Leader programmes defining research bottom-up. The Partnership provides joint access to research infrastructures, including databases, facilities, and instrumentation, as well as to clinical materials, networks, and training activities.
Qualifications
The DANDRITE Group Leader will be selected using quality criteria and assessments at the level of EMBL Group Leader position. The focus is on scientific excellence and the potential to collaborate with existing DANDRITE Group Leaders. Current approaches and model systems at DANDRITE cover a broad range of neuroscience (please find information about all the research groups here). To qualify for a Group Leader position, the candidate
  • Should have a Ph.D. degree or equivalent and an appropriate level of postdoctoral training.
  • Should present a substantial track record of relevance to (but not necessarily limited to) neuroscience.
  • Present an independent research proposal that demonstrates the potential to identify compelling new questions and ideas in neuroscience to be pursued at DANDRITE and with the leverage of existing or developing activities at NeuroCampus Aarhus.
  • Should add new areas to the existing research at DANDRITE
  • Is acquainted with project management, for instance through student supervision, teaching, and project leadership.
  • Possesses the ability to collaborate, guide and build relationships.
Particular weight will be given to scientific proficiency and visionary proposals. We will consider candidates at a level that corresponds to ERC starting grants. Group Leaders will be employed with a salary at the level of an Associate Professor.
Infrastructure, facilities and networks
DANDRITE is embedded in a vibrant NeuroCampus Aarhus research community at Aarhus University and encompasses internationally recognized research centers and infrastructures in genetics, molecular and clinical medicine, bioimaging, cognitive neuroscience, transgenic animal models, biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, nanoscience, and engineering. There are long-standing traditions in studies of for example membrane proteins, molecular neuroscience, brain function, and imaging, and in recent years an excellent research community within circuitry and behavioral models has developed. DANDRITE researchers will be supported locally by well-established research infrastructures that include for example cryo-EM, two-photon imaging, electrophysiology, and facilities to study animal behavior. Furthermore, national infrastructures and international capabilities provided by EMBL and EU programmes are available.
This is the second round of Group Leader recruitments for the period 2021-24 and will be an important part ahead of the DANDRITE community. As a Group Leader, you will be offered state-of-the-art laboratory facilities embedded in the existing research infrastructures for neuroscience at all levels ranging from structure and function of molecules to advanced imaging, functional studies in transgenic zebrafish, mice and rats, and human iPSC-derived neurons, glia cells, and brain organoids. Furthermore, clinical research units are available at the top-ranked Aarhus University Hospital, and biotech support structures are available and growing. There will be ample opportunities for training and experience with teaching, public outreach, and start-up/translation.
The newly appointed Group Leader will enter a two-year affiliation at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS). As a DANDRITE-AIAS Fellow, you will have the unique opportunity to engage with a diverse community of interdisciplinary and international scholars at Aarhus University in addition to the neuroscience community within DANDRITE. Furthermore, you will get access to academic and social events at AIAS and the use of AIAS premises and support for your own events and initiatives.
Research activities and support at DANDRITE
DANDRITE encompasses a thriving, international research community with many Ph.D. students and postdocs. We take part in both internal and external research centers, networks, and events, locally and internationally. The Group Leader will be invited to recurring scientific events, such as Group Leader retreats (twice a year), Group Leader lunch(monthly), DANDRITE internal seminars (every second week), and the DANDRITE SAB & retreats (bi-annual) (see more here).
DANDRITE Group Leaders receive extensive support from the DANDRITE Support team that provides the framework needed for DANDRITE researchers to focus on their research. The Support Team holds a broad range of responsibilities including assistance with the recruitment and onboarding of new group members, communications tasks, and as the contact point for the general administration at Aarhus University.
Curious about life in Denmark?
For further information, please contact
Professor Poul Nissen, Director, phone: +45 2899 2295, pn@mbg.au.dk
Professor Poul Henning Jensen, phone +45 2899 2056, phj@biomed.au.dk
Professor Anders Nykjær, phone +45 2899 2384, an@biomed.au.dk
Professor Jelena Radulovic, jelena.radulovic@biomed.au.dk
Application deadline:
July 31st, 2023, at 23.59 CET
Place of work
The laboratory and main office will be located either at Department of Biomedicine (Høegh-Guldbergsgade 10, 8000 Aarhus C) or Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C).
Formalities
We follow the EMBL model for international recruitment and the EMBL procedures for scientific reviews. We expect to invite selected candidates in October to a virtual symposium followed by individual, personal interviews.
Applications must be in English and should include the following:
  • Cover letter summarizing the applicant’s career, past research accomplishments and future plans (max 1 page).
  • CV including the experience with project leadership and student supervision and listing also invited presentations at international meetings and institutions.
  • Complete list of publications with the five most significant papers highlighted in a separate list.
  • Short research plan (max 5 pages) including also a summary of expected translational impact and potential in neuroscience
  • Names of three references that we can contact. Please list them directly in the application system.
Guidelines for applicants can be found here.
Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.
Letter of reference
If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.
Salary range
Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.
Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.
Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.
Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.
Apply:
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