PhD fellowship in computed tomography in large animal (equine) orthopaedics
A PhD fellowship is available in the Large Animal Surgery research group at Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences (), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen.
Start date is 15 August 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences contributes – through education, research, and dissemination within the field of veterinary clinical sciences – to the training and education of veterinarians in Denmark and to evidence-based development of general and specialized veterinary clinical practice. The core of the department’s research and teaching activities are our two integrated animal hospitals (companion animals, large animals). The department has a staff of approximately 275 people, of which 40 are faculty members, with the remainder being animal caretakers, nurses, veterinarians without research obligations, and other auxiliary staff.
The department covers strong and internationally recognized research areas in veterinary clinical sciences. Based on these, we want to set a new standard for cross-disciplinary research, education and innovation within animal health and disease. Our research supports teaching in a manner and quality, securing continued national and international benchmarking.
It is our ambition to be among the best public workplaces in Denmark. The culture of the department is typical Scandinavian: a flat structure with a tradition for close collaboration on all levels, where employees can expect openness, mutual respect, and sharing of ideas, resources, and competencies.

Project description

While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an excellent imaging modality for imaging tissues with high water content, like soft tissues and articular cartilage, low magnetic field MRI, as mostly used in equine practice, cannot detect mild or small lesions. Computed tomography (CT) allows for faster imaging and significantly better image fidelity for small objects. But, due to relatively similar X-ray attenuation of synovial fluid, soft tissues, and cartilage, CT is not able to detect lesions in articular cartilage and soft tissues (or early bone lesions characterized by bone oedema). The principal advantages of dual-energy CT (DECT) over conventional CT in the musculoskeletal setting relate to the additional information provided regarding tissue composition, artifact reduction, and image optimization. Within this PhD project the goal is to explore and establish the use of DECT in large animal (mainly equine) orthopaedics, e.g., for assessment of bone oedema in bone trauma or infection, detection of cartilage pathology, and/or diagnosis of soft tissue injuries.
The PhD project will explore the use of DECT in large animal/equine orthopaedics. This imaging technique has great promise but is still in its infancy in large animal orthopaedics. The PhD student will work with the supervisors to design a project based on the orthopaedic case load of The Large Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Copenhagen.
Principal supervisor is Professor Stine Jacobsen, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Phone: +45 35332620, Email:
Start: 15August 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Duration: 3 years as a PhD student. The defence usually takes place after the 3-year employment period.

Job description

Your key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carrying out an independent research project under supervision, with content as outlined above in the project description.
• 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.
• Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
• Writing a PhD thesis on the grounds of your project

Key criteria for the assessment of applicants

Applicants must have qualifications corresponding to a master’s degree in veterinary medicine (DVM). Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
Other important criteria are:

• Danish veterinary authorisation to practice veterinary medicine.
• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project, in particularly documented interest in or previous experience with computed tomography and other imaging modalities.
• Relevant clinical experience, particularly in equine orthopaedics.
• Previous publications.
• Documented experience with fund raising.
• Ability to work independently while keeping the team up to date.
• Language skills: Fluent in English

Applicants are encouraged to explain in their motivation letter how they match the specific requirements and to highlight other relevant qualifications. Adding reference letter(s) from previous employers or a list of reference persons to the application is encouraged.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at Section of Medicine & Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen (). Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences is renowned for its excellency in several fields of clinical veterinary research. The research in Section of Medicine & Surgery covers many areas within equine soft tissue surgery, orthopedics, imaging, and novel surgical techniques, and researchers have access to laboratories, patient files, biobanks, digitally stored diagnostic images, and other infrastructure to support their research. Our orthopaedic research encompasses synovial sepsis, biomarkers of joint disease, pathogenesis and treatment of osteoarthritis, diagnostics including imaging. The Department has recently installed Canon Medical Aquilion Exceed Large Bore 160 slice CT with dual energy on Qalibra platform for both standing CT and CT under general anaesthesia. The CT has dual-energy with kv and mA switching over the entire field-of-view.
We have a strong tradition of supporting PhD students in taking the lead of their own projects and developing them in the direction of their specific interests. As such, our PhDs obtain unique skills and qualifications that allow them to pursue careers in veterinary clinical as well as more general biomedical sciences.

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 August 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.
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 30,700 DKK/Roughly 4,100 EUR (April 2024 level) plus pension.

Questions

For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.
For specific questions regarding the HR process of recruitment, you can contact .
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. Motivation letter of application.
2. CV incl. education, work 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: . 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: 20 May 2024, 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: .
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.