Postdoctoral in germline and somatic evolution across mammals
The research group of Mikkel Heide Schierup invites applications for a 2\-year postdoctoral position in mutational processes in the germline and soma of mammals and the associated molecular and transcriptional evolution of the genes of the DNA repair pathways. The place of employment is the Bioinformatics Research Centre at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University. Start date is August 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Research context
The project funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation will generate large scale Pacbio HiFi sequencing data from many different tissues from multiple individuals of different mammalian species as well as snRNA sequencing data from the same tissues.
The purpose is to detect different types of mutations (SNVs, indels, transpositions) in the different tissues and model their occurrence in relation to tissue specific gene expression differences as well as species, age and gender of the individuals.
Expected start date and duration of employment
This is a 2–year position from August 1, 2026, or as soon possible hereafter.
The position may include the following tasks:
- Develop computation pipelines for large scale analysis mainly using Python
- Develop approaches to infer DNA single strand damage from HiFi kinetics output
- Infer scars of repair directly from the HiFi sequences in the form of homologous repair scars and indels
- Develop new statistical approaches for data analysis.
- Analyse snRNA data and relate it to mutational outcomes
The University is keen for its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their personal background.
Qualifications and the selection process
Applicants for this position must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent level of education) in population genetics, bioinformatics, data science, genetics, or in molecular biology with an emphasis on quantitative methods.
Applicants are asked to submit the following documents:
- a cover letter stating the relevant experience and projects and motivation for applying for the position \[maximum two pages],
- a cv and a list of publications,
- a maximum of three relevant publications.
International applicants are encouraged to check Family and work\-life balance and Attractive working conditions for further information about the benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see Taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU.
The work environment
The daily place of work for the present position is the Bioinformatics Research Centre (BiRC), Dept. of Molecular Biology and Genetics, with co\-supervision from the Department of Gastroenterology at Aarhus University Hospital nearby. BiRC employs about 30 staff, postdocs and PhD students working on various aspects of computational biology and hosts a number of collaborations with the Hospital. BiRC hosts the genomeDK supercomputer, which will be available for the current project. BiRC is also responsible for the Masters in Bioinformatics education with around 30 students per year. BiRC thus offers a dynamic working environment with many young people, where the majority are international and the working language is English.
The research group of Mikkel H. Schierup currently employs eight postdocs and five PhD students in a variety of projects in evolutionary genomics. The working environment is very collaborative and PhD students and postdocs are encouraged to develop their own independent projects.
Place of work and area of employment
The place of work is Bioinformatics Research Centre, Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.
Contact information
For further information, please contact: Mikkel H. Schierup, email: mheide@birc.au.dk, phone \+4527782889
Deadline
Applications must be received no later than July 7, 2026\.
Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified 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 each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self.
Formalities and salary range
Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.
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.
Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU.
At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.
*The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.*
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