Researcher in ex vivo dietary microbiome interventions

Employer: Copenhagen University

Place of employment
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) is an academic research Center that pioneers groundbreaking research towards better cardiometabolic health. Through collaborative interdisciplinary research from single-cell genomics to whole-body systems, CBMR aims to transform the basic understanding of cardiometabolic health and accelerate its translation into prevention and treatment strategies. The Center’s uniquely multi- and interdisciplinary approach combines research in genetics, physiology and pharma­cology, to better understand the complex interplay of the many factors that drive cardiometabolic disease. 

The Role, Project & Departement
We are looking for an experienced and motivated Researcher having extensive experience with ex vivo and in vitro microbiome culture and characterization to work in the Arumugam Group at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR). The position is a 2-year position starting December 1, 2024, or after agreement.

The project aims to decipher how dietary components affect specific members of the human gut microbiome using high-throughput dietary interventions on ex-vivo human gut microbiomes.

The Microbiome Systems Biology research group led by Associate Professor Manimozhiyan Arumugam investigates how health and diseases are influenced by our gut microbiome, how the gut microbiome interacts with the host and environmental factors, and how we can therapeutically modulate the gut microbiome to improve metabolic health. The group takes an interdisciplinary approach combining multi-omics microbiome data to study host-microbial cross-talk.

Responsabilities
Your tasks will include:

• In-vitro culturing and characterizing complex microbial communities; designing and performing dietary/nutrient intervention on these communities; and performing molecular microbiology characterizations.
• You will work closely together with lab technicians, bioinformaticians and researchers at multiple levels.
• We expect you to operate and run fed-batch anaerobic fermenters, perform sample collections and extraction of nucleic acids and metabolites.
• You will be responsible for coordinating the running of multi-omics (metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, meta-proteomics and metabolomics) and data analysis with technicians and bionformaticians.
• You will also participate in collaborative projects with other research groups at the Center that involves in vitro culturing of gut microbiota.
• Lastly, you will be expected to actively contribute to creating novel ideas, writing research publications and grant applications, supervising students, and presenting the results at seminars and conferences.

Requirements
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic Researcher with the following competencies and qualifications:

Essential criteria:

• PhD in microbiology, molecular biology or a similar field
• Minimum of three years’ of postdoc experience.
• Strong project management and coordination skills.
• Solid experience in operating large volume anaerobic chambers.
• Solid experience in operating fed-batch fermenters (e.g. SHIME, TIM-2) and maintaining continuous cultures of fecal microbial communities.
• Strong experience in generating and interpreting metabolomic data from in vitro microbial communities.
• Strong collaborative skills; ability to share knowledge and expertise, and provide support to a multidisciplinary team.
• Proven track record showing scientific productivity in peer reviewed journals.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Strong interest in learning more about the life science area, particularly metabolic disorders.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience in culturomics approaches.
• Experience in setting up defined synthetic microbial communities in vitro.
• Experience in identifying high-value compounds from microbial world.
• Insight in the area of health, life science and nutrition research.

Terms of employment
The employment as Researcher is a full time and fixed-term position for 2 years. Starting date is December 1, 2024, or after agreement.
Salary, pension and terms of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated.

Non-Danish and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions, if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.
The position is covered by the “Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities” of June 28, 2013.

Further information
For further information please contact Associate Professor Mani Arumugam at arumugam@sund.ku.dk. For questions regarding the recruitment procedure, please contact SUND HR CBMR at SUND-HR-CBMR@sund.ku.dk