Are you passionate about challenging established norms in extracellular vesicle biology? Do you have any experience in single-cell RNAseq? Then, the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, invites you to apply for a 2-year postdoc position.
Expected start date and duration of employment
This is a 2-year position from 1 April 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Job description
The project is funded by Lundbeck Foundation through the LF Experiment grant A Brain-wide Atlas of Cell-to-Cell Communication via Extracellular Vesicles. As a postdoc, you will primarily use zebrafish embryos as a model organism with the ambitious aim of establishing clear evidence for extracellular vesicle-driven crosstalk in the brain beyond synapses. Through the project, you will be trained as an expert in the extracellular vesicle field with skills in genetic engineering of extracellular vesicles (including transient/stable transgenesis of zebrafish), live embryo imaging, and spatial transcriptomics.
Your main tasks will consist of:
- Research of high international quality and publication in top journals.
- Collaboration with colleagues who work on extracellular vesicles and neurobiology.
- Research-based supervision of Bachelor, Master and PhD students in a vibrant group.
Your profile
We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated person who is ready to take a risk and gain high through the Experiment grant.
The candidate must have:
- A PhD degree in a relevant field (e.g. Molecular Biology, Neuroscience).
- A proven track record either in spatial transcriptomics or extracellular vesicle biology.
The successful candidate will have one or more of the followings:
- Expertise in spatial transcriptomics (single-cell RNAseq).
- Expertise in imaging and image analysis.
- Experience with genetic engineering (plasmid construction and transfection).
- Experience in working with zebrafish or other animal models.
Finally, we look for a candidate with:
- A high motivation and ambition in pursuing an academic career path.
- Excellent collaborative skills in communication and presentation.
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
Who we are
You will join a vibrant, collaborative, and international research community that includes 142 full-time scientific staff and 85 PhD students. English is the primary language used for internal communication and teaching, and international candidates are not required to learn Danish. Aarhus University offers a wide range of services to support international researchers and their families, including career counselling for accompanying partners.
You will be affiliated with an active research group led by Yuya Hayashi at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Yuya started his own group on extracellular vesicle biology and RNA nanotechnology funded by a Hallas-Møller Emerging Investigator grant from Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2022. Using the zebrafish as a model organism, the team focuses on studying the role of extracellular vesicles in cell-to-cell communication as inspiration for new nanomedicine designs. Visit his group webpage (http://mbg.au.dk/yuya-hayashi/ ) for further information. Yuya also organises a cross-departmental network of extracellular vesicle researchers at Aarhus University, EVAnet (http://mbg.au.dk/evanet/ ).
What we offer
The department offers:
- A well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment.
- An exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international and industrial collaborators.
- A research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research.
- A work environment with close working relationships, networking and social activities.
- A workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.
Place of work and area of employment
The place of work is Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.
The city of Aarhus
In Aarhus you have easy access to beautiful nature, an exciting culture and city life as well as a safe environment for children - a great place for the whole family. The city of Aarhus has everything you need within a surprisingly small area: exciting national and international jobs, delightful residential areas, a rich cultural life, and beautiful surrounding landscape of woods and coastline that make Aarhus a wonderful place to live and work. See “life in Denmark” at Aarhus and surroundings (au.dk) for further details on the city and the university.
Contact information
For further information, please contact: Associate Professor, Yuya Hayashi (yuya.hayashi@mbg.au.dk ).
Deadline
Applications must be received no later than 20 February 2026.
Application procedure
Shortlisting 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. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.
Letter of reference
If 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 range
Natural 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 toits 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more atwww.international.au.dk/