The Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Molecular Microbiology. The position is to be filled by 1 January 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter, subject to negotiation.

The Department of Biology is among the largest Departments of the University of Copenhagen. It employs about 475 academic and technical staff and hosts research programmes and teaching curricula that cover all major biological sub-disciplines. University rankings typically place the field of biology/biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen first in Denmark and among the top 30 universities internationally. In addition to a PhD-programme, three BSc study programmes (biology, biochemistry, molecular biomedicine) and four MSc study programmes (biology, biochemistry, molecular biomedicine, bioinformatics) engage close to 2000 students.

The Associate Professor will be affiliated with the Section for Functional Genomics. The section is large (7 professors and 6 associate professors) and conducts research related to basic processes of biology with a methodological emphasis on genetics. The section embraces four broadly defined research themes: Plant immunity, Archaeal Biology, Bacterial Genetics and Genome Dynamics. The present tenure-track assistant professor position was negotiated as part of a contract between the Danish National Research Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the University of Copenhagen that generated the Centre of Excellence for Bacterial Stress Response and Persistence (BASP). It is expected that the successful candidate will join the BASP Centre and, accordingly, will receive start-up support in the form of a postdoctoral fellow (3 years), a PhD-stipend, and limited running costs, as well as being allowed to have full access to the infrastructure of the Centre. The BASP Centre consists of seven research groups, four of which are located in close physical proximity at the Department of Biology, one is located at the Niels Bohr Institute, UCHP and one at the Department of Veterinary Disease Biology and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, UCHP. Finally, one research group studying protein structures is located at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University. The research conducted by the Centre aims to unravel novel molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial stress responses and antibiotic tolerance and resistance.

The appointee is expected to establish an externally funded research programme in molecular microbiology to expand the research programmme of the BASP Centre, and to develop a network of national and international collaborations in line with the Section’s tradition of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Duties also include teaching and supervision of students at the undergraduate/graduate levels, as well as some management tasks requested by the Department.

 The position requires an increasing publication trajectory in high-level, international, peer-reviewed ISI journals as well as some personal research grants or a designated (by name) part of major grants. Documented university level experience in delivering high-quality undergraduate/graduate teaching will be an advantage. If not already holding formal pedagogical qualifications, candidates are required to obtain pedagogical training equivalent to the University of Copenhagen teacher training programme for Assistant Professors.