Position as Staff Scientist in Organoid Biology, RNA Therapeutics and Cardiometabolic Disease

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Staff Scientist (AC-TAP) to be a cornerstone and formative members of a new groundbreaking initiative at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) focused on RNA therapeutics in cardiometabolic diseases.

This is a unique opportunity to lead a critical project at the intersection of (micro)RNA biology, advanced human model systemics, nanomedicine, and disease therapeutics. You will be able to contribute to our vision to translate basic disease findings into medicinal RNA approaches to improve the lives of people suffering from cardiometabolic disease.

This two-year position (with the wish and possibility of extension for another 2-3 years) is ideal for a scientist with deep technical expertise and passion of alleviating disease burden, who thrives on enabling research, developing new technologies, and mentoring scientists.

Our Vision: 

To pioneer RNA-based platforms (oligonucleotides, mRNA) to achieve gain-of-function in liver and extrahepatic organs like adipose tissue and vascular cell types with the aim of alleviating cardiometabolic disease burden in human patients.

Key Responsibilities:

• Setting up, validating, and maintaining human adipose organoid platforms
• Testing LNP-mRNA with scaling and QC, and antisense oligonucleotides to perturb human micro/mRNA targets.
• Upscaling of human adipose and liver organotypic setups to robotic.
• Writing and implementing SOPs, managing critical instruments.
• Hands-on training and guiding PhD students, postdocs, and technical staff.
• Collaborating and technical lead on projects, including designing experiments, troubleshooting complex problems, and generating the high-quality data that drives our projects forward.

Your Profile:

• PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, or a related field with a strong methodological focus. 
• Several years of productive postdoctoral or equivalent experience from industry, academic or a core facility as evidenced by high-impact publications, patents and conference proceedings
• Satisfaction in training academic researchers and helping them succeed in their projects. 
• A strong collaborator with excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent communicator (written and verbal) with a clear passion for translating basic findings into therapeutic approaches and an ability to communicate with industrial, innovation and academic collaborators.
• Meticulous and organised, with a proven ability to manage complex projects and maintain high-quality documentation (e.g., Jupyter).

Technical Expertise:

You have demonstrated, hands-on expertise in several of the following:

• iPSC models with focus on adipocytes / adipose tissue.
• Experience with RNA-based platforms in cardiometabolic cells and tissues.
• Designing, delivery and benchmarking anti-miRs and microRNA AAV decoys.
• Rodent models of metabolic disease and expertise in animal husbandry.

What We Offer:

You'll be joining a prolific, internationally recognized research group at the Functional Genomics and Metabolic (FGM) Section at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular at SDU. Our group focusses on fundamental principles in gene regulation, epigenetics, noncoding RNAs, and adipose biology, with a strong to developing the next generation of RNA-based medicines (Kornfeld Nature 2013, Oliverio Nature Cell Biology 2016, Awazawa Nature Medicine 2017, Schmidt Nature Communications 2018, Pradas-Juni Nature Communications 2020, Park Nature Metabolism 2021, Engelhard iScience 2023, Khani-Topel Nature Metabolism 2024, Kaul Nature Metabolism 2025).

We provide:

• A stable, supportive, and collaborative research environment.
• Rich inter-sectorial collaborations with industrial and academic partners.
• A unique position working at the intersection of microRNA and mRNA target discovery and innovation.
• Access to state-of-the-art facilities for proteomics, molecular biology, and in vivo studies.
• Affiliation with the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Adipocyte Signalling (ADIPOSIGN), an international research consortium at FGM with focus on multi-omic mapping of cardiometabolic (adipocyte) dysfunction.
• Dedicated mentorship and career development.
• A competitive salary and benefits package in accordance with Danish regulations.

Contact Information:

For further information, please contact Professor Jan-Wilhelm Kornfeld, janwilhelmkornfeld@bmb.sdu.dk, tel. +45 9350 7481.

Your application must include the following:

• A targeted letter of motivation (max 2 pages). This must state your unique suitability and motivation for this specific role. Generic applications will not be considered!
• At minimum one PhD and one postdoc publication that should constitute the basis for assessment.
• A curriculum vitae including information on two references from your PhD/postdoc.
• A full list of publications stating the scientific publications.
• Diploma