CBMR International PhD and Postdoc Program in Denmark 2026

Applications are now open for the CBMR International PhD and Postdoc Program at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.This fully funded program supports early career researchers and clinicians who want to build a career in academic medicine. It focuses on basic cardiometabolic research with an emphasis on human pathophysiology.

Selected fellows receive a competitive salary plus running costs for their research.PhD positions last four years, and Postdoc positions last three years. All positions start on November 15, 2026. The application deadline is August 10, 2026. There is no application fee. You can check out BS, MS, PhD and postdoc positions here.

2027 Postdoc Projects

Professor Juleen R. Zierath – Therapeutic Potential of Urocortin II to Protect Muscle Mass and Function

This project explores the therapeutic potential of Urocortin II (UCN2), a peptide hormone that signals through the CRHR2 receptor. The goal is to preserve skeletal muscle mass and function during metabolic disease and pharmacological weight loss (especially with GLP-1 receptor agonists used for obesity treatment).

The research uses in vivo models of diabetic myopathy and diet-induced obesity, along with comprehensive metabolic and skeletal muscle phenotyping. Transcriptomic profiling and multi-omics integration will reveal the molecular mechanisms of UCN2’s effects on muscle biology.

The successful candidate will join the Zierath Group, which combines in vivo physiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. Access to state-of-the-art platforms at CBMR and collaborations with Karolinska Institutet and other institutions is provided.

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Associate Professor Jonas T. Treebak – Translational Relevance of Digital Biomarkers for Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Mice and Humans

This project develops and validates novel digital biomarkers of glucose homeostasis using high-resolution continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data from both mice and humans.

Key activities include:

• Developing analytical frameworks to extract dynamic features from CGM time-series data (regulatory capacity, response kinetics, and restoration of glucose equilibrium).
• Characterizing biomarkers in extensive murine CGM datasets under various metabolic conditions (diet-induced obesity and genetic models of insulin resistance).
• Validating translational relevance using large-scale human CGM datasets from international cohorts.
• Mapping human-derived biomarkers back to mouse models for mechanistic studies.

The project aims to create a unified framework for interpreting glucose dynamics across species to support earlier detection and better stratification of metabolic disease.

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Associate Professor Zach Gerhart-Hines – LIGTHEN-UP: Leveraging Incretins and Growth Hormone to Engineer a Unique Pharmacotherapy

The postdoctoral fellow will design and execute preclinical studies in diet-induced obese mice. The focus is on developing next-generation obesity therapeutics that achieve strong weight loss while protecting lean mass and maintaining resting energy expenditure.

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan and perform in vivo dosing studies in rodent models of obesity, including longitudinal assessments of body composition, energy expenditure, fuel selection, and physical activity using metabolic cages and MRI.
• Conduct in vivo and ex vivo assessments of skeletal muscle function (force generation, fatigue resistance) and mitochondrial bioenergetics (high-resolution respirometry).
• Coordinate tissue collection and analysis across muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and other organs to map signaling and proteomic pathways.
• Integrate physiological, signaling, and omics datasets; prepare manuscripts and present findings at international meetings.
• Contribute to the daily research environment of the Gerhart-Hines Group, including supervision of students and participation in group and CBMR activities.

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Professor Torben Hansen – Deciphering the Oral–Liver Axis: Integrative Cross-Organ Multi-Omics Analysis

This project investigates the connection between oral infections (dental caries and periodontitis) and cardiometabolic diseases, particularly steatotic liver disease (SLD).

It integrates host genetics, salivary microbiome profiling, proteomics, and longitudinal clinical phenotyping across stages of SLD. The candidate will use large cohorts, multi-omics data, causal inference methods, and longitudinal sampling (saliva, blood, and liver biopsies) to identify dynamic biomarkers and mechanisms linking oral health to liver pathology.

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Professor Kei Sakamoto – Beyond Canonical Energy Sensing: Identification of Novel Isoform-Selective Metabolite Modulators of AMPK

This project focuses on identifying, characterizing, and validating novel molecular mechanisms and modulators of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of cellular and whole-body energy homeostasis.

The work uses biochemical, multi-omics, and computational approaches, along with genetic models and chemical tools. Emphasis is placed on AMPK’s role in skeletal muscle glucose metabolism and hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism.

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Associate Professor Tune H. Pers – Energy Expenditure Control by Hypothalamic Lmx1a Neurons

The project investigates a newly identified neuronal population in the brain that regulates energy homeostasis. The fellow will use stereotactic viral delivery, in vivo fiber photometry, DREADDs, neuroanatomical tracing, and integration with single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in transgenic mouse models.

Ideal candidates have a PhD in neuroscience, molecular biology, machine learning, data science, or related fields, plus strong experience in rodent circuit neuroscience and energy balance regulation.

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Associate Professor Atul Deshmukh – Therapeutic Targeting of IGSF9 in Insulin Resistance

This project maps the plasma proteome across health, obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes to identify circulating proteins linked to metabolic dysfunction. Candidate proteins will be screened and validated using cell-based assays and animal models.

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Associate Professor Thomas Frimurer – Development of an Enabling Computational Pipeline for Peptide Ligand Design: Application to Y4R Antagonist Discovery

This two-year position focuses on developing computational pipelines for structure-based peptide design targeting metabolic GPCRs (initial focus on NPY and MCH receptor families). Tools include AI-based structure prediction, peptide modeling, docking, and molecular simulations.

The candidate will also contribute to computational receptor deorphanization for adipose-derived peptides (batokines).

Requirements: PhD in computational chemistry, structural biology, biophysics, computer science, or related field; strong programming (Python) and HPC/GPU experience.

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Associate Professor Tuomas Kilpeläinen – Improving Scalability and Power in Cardiometabolic GWAS through Robust Modeling of Missing Phenotypes

This project addresses phenotypic missingness in large biobanks by evaluating and applying phenotype prediction and imputation strategies. It uses uncertainty-aware methods, proteomics data, and explores context-specific genetic effects (age, sex, adiposity, inflammation).

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2027 PhD Projects

Associate Professor Marta Guasch-Ferré – The Molecular Links between Plant-based Diets and Cardiometabolic Health: A Multi-Omics Approach

This PhD project examines how sustainable plant-based diets influence cardiometabolic disease risk through molecular pathways, using metabolomics, proteomics, genetics, and data from large cohorts and the PLANETDIET trial.

Main Aims:

• Identify and validate diet-related metabolomic and proteomic signatures and their links to incident type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease.
• Determine molecular changes induced by dietary interventions.
• Identify genetic determinants of diet-related proteins.

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Professor Simon Rasmussen – Precision Medicine from Graph-Based Medical Digital Twins

This project develops AI-based “medical digital twins” using genomics, electronic health records, registries, and multi-omics data. The goal is to model disease risk and progression for precision prevention and treatment in cardiometabolic disease.

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Professor Ruth Loos – Genetics of MRI-derived Skeletal Muscle Features and Cardiometabolic Health

The project leverages UK Biobank and similar resources to study genetic determinants of skeletal muscle traits using imaging-derived phenotypes and their relationship to body composition and cardiometabolic health.

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Associate Professor Christoffer Clemmensen – The Causal Mechanisms Underlying the Progression of Obesity

This project investigates causal mechanisms of obesity progression using rodent models, neuroscience, endocrinology, metabolic physiology, ex vivo analyses, and bioinformatics.

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