PhD Scholarship in AI-Driven Cancer Immunotherapy at DTU Health Tech
If you are passionate about harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge protein engineering to revolutionise cancer treatment, this PhD position offers an extraordinary opportunity to pioneer groundbreaking immunotherapy solutions.
You will join an innovative project at DTU Health Tech focused on developing AI-generated peptide-MHC-targeting minibinders, a transformative approach to specifically target intracellular cancer proteins. By integrating advanced computational design with sophisticated CAR T-cell engineering strategies, you will contribute to creating highly precise cancer therapies capable of overcoming current treatment limitations. These strategies will be combined with novel strategies for generating T cells from inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to obtain off-the-shelf cancer-targeting T cell products. This is your chance to collaborate within a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment, substantially advancing your scientific career while addressing one of healthcare's most urgent challenges.
Responsibilities and qualifications
Your primary role will be to develop and validate AI-driven peptide-MHC minibinders and integrate these into advanced CAR T-cell systems for targeted cancer immunotherapy. You will collaborate closely within an interdisciplinary team at DTU Healthtech and engage actively with academic and clinical partners to advance cancer treatments.
Your primary tasks will be to:
- Design and validate AI-generated peptide-MHC minibinders.
- Construct and optimise next generation CAR T-cell platforms.
- Perform in vitro functional validation of minibinder constructs.
- Conduct specificity and cross-reactivity assays.
- Evaluate therapeutic efficacy using cancer cell line models.
- Optimise existing T cell differentiation protocols for generation of T cells from iPSCs.
- Execute and analyse pre-clinical in vivo experiments.
- Document and communicate results through scientific publications and presentations.
Required qualifications:
- MSc in biotechnology, immunology, bioinformatics, or a related field.
- Experience in molecular biology techniques and cell culture systems.
- Strong background in computational biology and AI-driven protein design.
- Demonstrated ability in scientific communication and collaboration.
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.
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 .
Assessment
The assessment of the applicants will be made by Professor Sine Reker Hadrup, Associate Professor Timothy Jenkins, and Postdocs Kristoffer Haurum Johansen and Rasmus Møller.
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. Starting date is 1 October 2025, Full-time employee as PhD student.
You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.
Further information
Further information may be obtained from Professor Sine Reker Hadrup (andrewbaileyrussell46adamjarvisSIRHA@smith.dkdtu.dkcompton.dk ).
You can read more about DTU Health Tech at www.healthtech.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 than5 September 2025 (23:59 Danish time) . Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:
- A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
- Curriculum vitae
- Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
You may apply prior to obtaining your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.
DTU Health Tech
DTU Health Tech engages in research, education, and innovation base on technical and natural science for the healthcare sector. The Healthcare sector is a globally expanding market with demands for the most advanced technological solutions. DTU Health Tech creates the foundation for companies to develop new and innovative services and products which benefit people and create value for society. DTU Health Techs expertise spans from imaging and biosensor techniques, across digital health and biological modelling, to biopharma technologies. The department has a scientific staff of about 210 persons, 140 PhD students and a technical/administrative support staff of about 160 persons, of which a large majority contributes to our research infrastructure and related commercial activities.
Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.