Postdoc position in parasite immunology and extracellular vesicle based immunomodulation
Location: Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences - ANIVET Gut and host health (GHH), Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele
Duration: Fixed term full-time position, 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026
About the Role
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, invites applications for a fulltime 2-year postdoc position, focusing on parasite immunology and extracellular vesicle based immunomodulation.
The candidate will work on different projects within the group, centered around avian gastrointestinal nematodes and type-2 immunity. We are interested in host-pathogen interactions, studying host immune mechanisms and parasite evasion strategies. The postdoc will carry out research involving genetic differences in the host concerning the early innate immune response to infection and the impact of gut-dwelling parasites on the development of the immune system and microbiota in young chickens. Furthermore, studies will include detailed analyses of parasite excretory products with the aim of understanding mechanisms of immunomodulation with a special focus on parasite-derived extracellular vesicles. The work will include in vivo studies as well as in vitro work with primary immune cells, cell lines and organoids. The research will be conducted by using extensive immunological analyses such as multi-parameter flow cytometry, bulk/single cell RNA sequencing, analyses of microbiome composition as well as proteomic analyses of the parasite secretome.
The candidate will be part of an active and dynamic research group, which is internationally recognized for its research in nutrition, gut microbiology, immunology and health.
Qualifications
- PhD in immunology or similar
- Experienced in experimental animal models, with FELASA accreditation or equivalent
- Experience with immunology techniques such as flow cytometry, ELISA, qPCR, Western Blotting
- Experience with transcriptomics
- Experience with parasitology and microbiome analyses
- Development and culture of organoids
- For non-Scandinavian candidates an effort to learn to read, write, and speak Danish is a requirement.
The candidate will contribute to attract external funding within this area of research and will participate in knowledge exchange with society and industry as well as in teaching and supervision at the Bachelor, Master, and PhD level. The candidate must have good collaborative and English communication skills.
Further information on the position may be obtained from Head of Research Unit Gut and Host Health (GHH) Knud Erik Bach Knudsen: knuderik [dot] bachknudsen [at] anivet [dot] au [dot] dk and Associate Professor Tina Sørensen Dalgaard: tina [dot] dalgaard [at] anivet [dot] au [dot] dk.