Postdoctoral positions in ethical and legal aspects of health and life science innovation at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen

The Centre for Biomedical Innovation Law (CeBIL), Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, is seeking to appoint postdoctoral researchers for a fully funded three (3)-year period. A renewal of the appointment may be possible based on funding and performance. The position is part of the interdisciplinary Inter-CeBIL programme funded by a 50 million DKK grant by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF). It involves close collaboration with partners from the University of Cambridge, Harvard, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and further prominent researchers from leading universities around the globe.

Areas of Research
Inter-CeBIL is dedicated to facilitating the translation of innovative health & life science research into practical applications and innovation that creates beneficial impact in society and reaches patients. Against this background, the accepted Postdoc is supposed to contribute with problem and solution-oriented research at the highest level focusing on issues that relate to these three key-areas:

Advanced Medical Computing: Navigate the intricate legal and ethical issues surrounding new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, swarm learning, quantum computing, and other disruptive technologies.

Pandemic Preparedness & AMR: Develop frameworks that both accelerate innovations in combating pandemics and antimicrobial resistance and ensure their safe, ethical application.

Sustainable Innovation: Focus on eco-systems, drug R&D, and regulation to foster sustainable, effective, and globally competitive health and life science innovation, including biosolutions, NGTs, novel foods, & biologics.

The postdoctoral candidate will work in one of the above research areas with a focus on different legal and ethical aspects associated with these technologies. Depending on the qualifications and interests of the candidate, these may range from privacy, data security, intellectual property, competition law, human rights, bias and liability.

About Inter-CeBIL   

The Inter-CeBIL program is supported by a grant of 50 million DKK by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It unites core partners from the University of Copenhagen, Harvard, Cambridge and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), as well as further research fellows and affiliates from top universities around the globe. The programme will focus on the aforementioned three key areas, complemented by studies on practical implementations and use-cases involving many public and private stakeholders from Denmark and around the globe.

The overall aim and ambition of Inter-CeBIL is to contribute to the translation of groundbreaking health and life science research into safe, effective, affordable and accessible therapies. We also aim to help finding solutions to tackle the grand challenges of our time, such as climate change, food shortage and pandemics, by analyzing the most significant legal challenges to health and life science innovation and public health from a cross-disciplinary perspective. CeBIL is international and interdisciplinary, anchored at the Faculty of Law , the Center collaborates with key national and international experts from academia, public bodies, patient organizations and industry. Some of the most renowned international academic capacities in health & life science innovation law are involved in the Inter-CeBIL-programme as either Core Partners or Collaborators.

For further details, please visit our website .

Job Responsibilities
The successful candidates are expected to play an active role in the daily life of the center. The main responsibilities of the postdoctoral researchers are: 

• develop and execute high-level research projects independently;
• draft the project deliverables and reports in close collaboration with the project partners;
• publish articles in high-impact factor journals;
• coordinate the development and execution of research projects in collaboration with other Inter-CeBIL researchers;
• help in the preparation of project proposals;
• develop the academic field to the highest international level, including participation in webinars, workshops and international conferences;
• contribute actively to the work of Inter-CeBIL and the Inter-CeBIL research community;
• participate in knowledge dissemination activities and debate with the general public.
• teach at the Faculty of Law

Other obligations may be added as stipulated by the Faculty.

Required Qualifications
The position requires a PhD or equivalent qualifications in law or in another social science, including regulatory science disciplines. In addition, we would also consider candidates with equivalent degrees in data and computer science, computational biology, molecular biology, quantum chemistry and quantum physics, provided that the applicant can also document sufficient experience in law, or a strong interest in legal research, such as in patent law or regulatory law. All applicants are expected to be able to use English as the working language (written and spoken). Successful candidates will demonstrate a clear potential to deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed research publications. This position is for research.In the assessment, emphasis will be placed on the applicants’ research and their ambition to develop and implement new research ideas, which may have an international impact. Furthermore, the Faculty places emphasis on the applicants’ interest in, and preferably prior experience with, collaborative research and teaching activities in an international setting. 

Salary and Terms of Employment
The postdoctoral positions are full-time temporary appointment for a duration of three (3) years.

The appointment is based on the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikernes Centralorganisation, AC). Furthermore, a total contribution to your pension fund equal to 17.1% of your salary and annual increment is paid.  

The position includes 70% research, 20% teaching and 10% administrative responsibilities.

Application
Letter of motivation, appendices and the submitted research publications (including papers, articles and books), must be written in English. The application will be rejected if not all the required documents are submitted.

It is essential that you fill out all the mandatory fields in the electronic application even though the info is already stated in your CV, application, publication or other material you may find relevant to upload. The completed fields will be screened during the shortlisting and assessment process and in order to generate your final assessment, which we will send to you after the assessment work is finalized.

Click ‘Apply now’ below to be taken to the online application form. We advise you to have the following documents ready before you begin your online application:  

• Cover letter (a one-page document explaining the reasons for applying and addressed to the Associate Dean of  Research).
• Curriculum vitae.
• Diplomas (including PhD diploma or alternatively a document showing that the applicant submitted a dissertation).
• Publication list (numbered and with co-author declarations attached, if relevant).
• Reference list, if available (please upload under “other relevant material”).
• Copies of publications (a maximum of five (5) publications, including the applicant’s PhD or JSD thesis and a maximum of one (1) monograph).

In addition to the material which the applicant wishes to be included in the assessment, the Assessment Committee may require further material to assess the applicant. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide such supplementary material, should this be requested. 

Application procedure
An automatically generated message is sent out acknowledging receipt of the uploaded application. Applicants will be kept informed about the process of the application procedure on a regular basis via email. Following the application deadline, the Associate Dean of Research selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an expert Assessment Committee. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. When the committee has completed its assessment, applicants have the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to them.

Further Information
For further information about the position’s academic content, please contact Timo Minssen at Inter-CeBIL: +46 708607517.

For further information on the recruitment process, please contact HR Officer Dorthea Andersen at HR South and City Campuses at [email protected] . Please refer to ID number 211-1650/23-2I #1.

Application deadline
The closing date for applications is 30 January 2024, 23:59 GMT +1.  

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Likewise, incomplete applications (i.e. without all required documents) will be rejected.   

The successful candidate can commence from 1 April 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.   

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.