PhD fellowship in cerebral interoception at Center for Translational Neuromedicine

We are offering a PhD fellowship in cerebral interoception commencing 15 February 2027 or after agreement.

Our group and research
Center for Translational Neuromedicine focuses on developing new approaches for examining and treating neurological diseases, primarily using the tools of physiology and imaging coupled with cell and gene therapy. Our emphasis is on using these technologies to enable neural and glial cell replacement in the adult brain and spinal cord, as a means of both disease modeling and therapeutic repair.

Center for Translational Neuromedicine currently has 55 employees and students and is divided into five labs. CTN is characterized by a highly ambitious research environment. The Center is highly interdisciplinary and has many international collaborators. The PhD-student will be part of the Kaag Rasmussen lab, Division of Pain Volume Transmission. Being part of the Kaag Rasmussen lab offers an opportunity to work in an in vivo lab engaged in the neuroscience of pain signalling, focusing on transgenic animal models, behaviour, in vivo imaging and omics technologies.

Project description
In this PhD project we will characterize the functional and molecular characteristics of meningeal sensory neurons. In all the body, different sensory neuron classes project to various targets and are fine-tuned at a functional and molecular level to detect and transmit sensory information from the target organ to the central nervous system. The sensory neurons projecting to dura mater and pia mater have been known to play a role in headache pathology, yet very little is known regarding their functional and molecular properties. This PhD project will dissect out which sensory neuron subtypes project to dura and pia mater, what stimuli they respond to, and define their molecular identity. The aim is to identify what subclasses of meningeal sensory projection neurons are involved in headache experience, and to identify new molecular targets within these sensory neurons that could provide basis for headache therapeutics in the future. To achieve this we will use a combination of in vivo imaging of transgene animals expressing various fluorophores that be used as indicators of neuronal activity and single cell transcriptomics.

Principal supervisor is Martin Kaag Rasmussen, Center for Translational Neuromedicine, martin.rasmussen@sund.ku.dk.

Start: 15 February 2027 or after agreement

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., Neuroscience).

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 pain and headache as well as basic neuroscience
• Language skills

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, 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 state-of-the-art equipment

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 15 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 31,800 DKK/Roughly 4,250 EUR (August 2026 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.

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 degree diploma(s) relevant to a Danish master’s or bachelor’s degree depending on whether you completed your education in Denmark or abroad (read more under Qualifications). If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. We encourage you to read more in the 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: 17 November 2026, 23.59 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 here.

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