PhD position in environmental toxicology and endocrine disruption: Focus on new endpoints in zebrafish for identification of endocrine disrupting chemicals
Odense, Denmark
The Department of Biology, Faculty of Science at the University of Southern Denmark invites applications for a 3-year position as a Ph.D. The position is in the Ecotoxicology group at the Department of Biology. The group has more than 30 years of experience in basic and applied ecotoxicology research focused on endocrine disrupting chemicals, metals, and plastic particles. The Ecotoxicology group has strong long-standing collaborations with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, national and international research groups, the EU, and the OECD in relation to the development of international test systems that reveal possible endocrine disrupting effects of chemicals in model organisms, for example, fish and invertebrates.
Research project: The objective of the project is to investigate and pre-validate new endpoints in zebrafish sensitive to, or diagnostic of, endocrine disruption caused by chemicals. The expected tasks include exposure of zebrafish to suspected and known endocrine disruption chemicals (EDCs) and evaluation of a range of potential biomarkers and endpoints not yet validated in fish. Eleutheroembryo life stages (currently regarded as non-protected New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in the EU), will be compared to later protected life-stages. Methods include detailed organ histopathology, advanced imaging and spectroscopy, gene expression profiling, behavioral analysis, immunohistochemistry etc. The effects in zebrafish will be analyzed for potential extrapolation to other vertebrate classes, including mammals (humans), in a One Health approach by use of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) and AOP networks.
The project will be funded by PARC (EU, Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals) and linked to activities in other ongoing projects in the Ecotoxicology group, including NeXED (Network for Cross-disciplinary assessment of Endocrine Disrupting compounds, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network), DK EPA test guideline development project, and CeHOS (Danish Center on Endocrine Disruptors).
Qualifications: The successful candidate must have an MSc degree in biology or equivalent, and a background in environmental toxicology. The following experiences and skills are required:
• Strong proficiency in English, both written and verbal
• Experience with endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their mechanisms of action
• Experimental experience with zebrafish as a model organism
• Proficiency in laboratory techniques, including OECD fish test protocols, histopathology analysis, and behavior analysis.
It is an advantage if the candidate has experience in statistical analysis (e.g., using R), has experience in conducting literature reviews, know and understands the concept of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) in toxicology.
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with strong analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
The position will start as soon as possible and no later than November 2026
