Project description

Your role will be to:

• Design and develop in vivo models for prediction of clinical relevant sensitisation based on known allergenic and non-allergenic foods.
• Test and select an array of end-point parameters allowing for an unseen robustness in ranking of sensitising capacity of foods.
• Validate the predictive in vivo model(s) using a legume reference set of protein extracts with varying degree of novelty.
• Compare in vivo finding with finding from in vitro models.
• Investigate if models can be implemented in another lab

This will be done by performing animal experiments and analysing disease severity by body hypothermia, ear swelling, symptom scoring and effector degranulation, as well as analysing specific serum and faecal antibody levels, avidity and specificity, immune cell profiles, proliferation and cytokine levels, specific protein uptake and gut permeability by means of ELISA’s, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, qPCR and cell-based assays.

Responsibilities and tasks
In this PhD project you will contribute to develop a toolbox with methods allowing for prediction of allergenicity of new foods and specifically develop and employ in vivo models to predict the sensitising capacity of novel food proteins. You will be involved in research, innovation, publication, and scientific dissemination, where your primary research tasks will focus on:

• Designing, developing, standardising and validating in vivo models of food allergy sensitisation
• Selecting and designing an array of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo end-point parameters
• Performing various in vitro and ex vivo allergenicity analysis
• Design and employ a ranking system for evaluating sensitisation capacity

With the overall aim of determine the sensitising capacity of novel foods and food proteins.

Further, it is expected that you will take part of all training, networking and collaborative tasks offered by the ALLPreT project, which include development of both technical and soft skills (organisation of meetings, grant writing, presentation for different audiences, etc.)

External stays are a mandatory part of your new PhD fellowship position, where ALK in Denmark and Medical University of Vienna in Austria will be the hosting institutions for a total period of five months.

Qualifications

We are looking for a team player with the motivation and drive needed for making a difference that matters. You should have a critical mindset, be curios and eager to learn. As you will join international teams good command of written and spoken English is necessary.

Your CV comprises a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Allergology, Immunology, Biomedicine, Protein Chemistry, Molecular Biology or a related field as well as:

• Solid understanding of immunology and/or food allergy, and
• Knowledge of protein-chemistry, and
• Solid experience in in vivo models, and/or
• Experience in performing in vitro and/or ex vivo cell-based assays, and/or
• Experience in studying uptake of proteins in the gut, and/or
• Experience in proteomic analyses

According to the rules for MSCA doctoral networks, applicants should not have resided or worked in Denmark for more than 12 out of the last 36 months.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Your new team
The Research Group for Food Allergy, headed by Senior Researcher Katrine Lindholm Bøgh, researches the relationship between different physicochemical features of food proteins and their capacity to induce either allergy or tolerance with an aim to deepen the understanding on why certain food proteins are more allergenic than others and to develop new and improved preventive, management and treatment strategies. We are part of the Danish National Food Institute where we conduct research at the forefront of healthy, safe and sustainable food. Read more at https://www.food.dtu.dk/english

Approval and Enrolment

The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years.

The position is a full-time position starting April 1^st 2023 (or according to mutual agreement).

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Head of Research Group, Senior Researcher Katrine Lindholm Bøgh, National Food Institute kalb@food.dtu.dk and at Research Group for Food Allergy - DTU Food

You can read more about DTU Food at https://www.food.dtu.dk/english

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure

Your complete online application must be submitted no later than October 23rd (Danish time).

For more information about this position and to apply you can to go the DTU website:

PhD scholarship in food allergy and in vivo prediction models (dtu.dk)