The research group of Mikkel Heide Schierup invites applications for a 2-year postdoctoral position in germline and somatic evolution in mammals. The place of employment is the Bioinformatics Research Centre at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University. Start date is 1 July, 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 employmentThis is a 2–year position from 1 July 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
Should you have any doubts or require further information, Prof. Mikkel Heide Schierup (mheide@birc.au.dk) is available for informal discussions regarding the potential fit for the position
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 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 informationFor further information, please contact: Mikkel H. Schierup, email:
mheide@birc.au.dk, phone +4527782889
DeadlineApplications must be received no later than 29 May 2026.
Application procedureShortlisting 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.
Letter of referenceIf you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.
If you wish to add a referee
after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: HR.Nattech@au.dk
Formalities and salary rangeNatural 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. Read more
here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark
here.
Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it
here.
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. Aarhus University Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 37,000 students (FTEs) and 8.700 employees and has an annual revenue of EUR 1.106 billion. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/
