Professor of Computational Psychiatry & Neuroscience

The Department of Clinical Medicine at Faculty of Health at Aarhus University invites applications for a position as Professor in the field of Computational Psychiatry and Neuroscience as per 1 Feburary 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is a permanent full-time position.

As a professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine, you will be part of what is probably the largest health science research department in Denmark. Our clinical research covers all the medical specialities and takes place in close collaboration with the university hospital and the regional hospitals in the Central Denmark Region. We have approx. 30,000 square metres of modern research facilities for experimental surgery and medicine, animal facilities and also advanced scanners at our disposal. The department has overall responsibility for the Master's degree programs in medicine and in molecular medicine. At the department we are approx. 425 academic employees and the same number of PhD students cooperating across disciplines. As a professor, you will be working on Aarhus University Hospital or another hospital in the Central Denmark Region. You can read more about the department here and about the faculty here.

Your job responsibilities

As Professor of Computational Psychiatry and Neuroscience, you will have joint responsibility for the development of the department's research and teaching environment, and you will contribute to the implementation of the faculty's overall research strategy. You are expected to contribute – both independently and in collaboration with others – to the development of the department by leading research of high international quality and contributing to ensuring a high academic and didactic standard in teaching. Qua your excellent collaborative skills and a broad academic network, you contribute to the academic development at Aarhus University and to the university’s profile both nationally and internationally.

Your main tasks will consist of:

• Research of high international quality, including publication in top international journals and communicating your research in national and international academic networks.
• Teaching, supervision and examination of Bachelor’s and Master's degree students.
• To contribute to the funding of your own research group with the help of external research funding.
• Supervision of PhD students and contributing to the development of the faculty's PhD courses.
• Assessment and committee work at Aarhus University.
• Research-based collaboration with private and public-sector stakeholders as well as research-based consultancy.
• Dissemination of your research to the outside world.
• Development of research on brain–body interaction and interoception, including exploration of computational and quantitative approaches relevant to interfaces between psychiatric and somatic health
• Contribution to the integration of computational neuroscience and NeuroAI methods within the department’s research and teaching profile, including cross-disciplinary collaboration with clinical psychiatry and somatic medicine.

You will report to the Professor and Centre Chair at Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Leif Østergaard

Your competences

You have an excellent track record in computational psychiatry and neuroscience research and have established yourself as a prominent and internationally visible researcher. Relevant candidates may come from different academic backgrounds, such as medicine, psychology, neuroscience, or related disciplines, and have demonstrated strong research expertise in computational psychiatry and neuroscience.

As a successful candidate you are expected to adopt a translational perspective in your research, aiming to bridge fundamental discoveries and clinical application. This includes developing ideas and approaches that may contribute to improved diagnostic tools and treatment strategies. You should also demonstrate an integrated perspective on the relationship between mental health disorders and somatic conditions, recognising the complex interactions between psychological and physical health.

You possess solid research qualifications at a high international level, with particular strengths in computational modelling, brain–body interaction, and interoception, and their relevance for mental and somatic disorders. You have broad international cooperative partnerships and extensive experience with interdisciplinary research collaboration, including close interaction with clinical and hospital-based environments. You have a documented ability to attract substantial competitive research funding as principal investigator from major national and international funding bodies.

As a person, you are a constructive and supportive academic leader who contributes positively to collaborative research environments and builds productive working relationships with colleagues and research partners. As a lecturer, you communicate current and relevant scientific knowledge clearly and precisely, with teaching closely integrated with your research activities. You are interested in contributing to the development of the department’s teaching activities, including a computational neuroscience and NeuroAI teaching programme that strengthens quantitative and computational competence across medicine, neuroscience, and psychiatry. As a supervisor, you provide engaged, responsible, and research-based supervision of junior researchers and PhD students.

You are prepared to take co-responsibility for the continued development of the department’s research and education at a high international level and for maintaining a good working environment. You actively engage in interdisciplinary collaboration at departmental, faculty, and university level, as well as nationally and internationally, particularly in research integrating mental health and somatic medicine and advancing understanding of mental health–somatic comorbidity through brain–body interaction and interoception.

You are fluent in oral and written English. International applicants are expected to learn Danish, and Aarhus University arranges Danish teaching.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Professor position, you must meet these academic criteria.

Questions about the position

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor and Centre Chair at Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Leif Østergaard tel.: (+45) 8746 4091.

Your place of work will be the Department of Clinical Medicine - Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Universitetsbyen 3, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

We expect to conduct interviews in August.
 

Terms of employment

• In making the appointment, emphasis will be placed on a high degree of original production at an internal level and experience from teaching at different levels as well as contributions to the development of teaching activities and teaching material, hereby documenting that the applicant has developed the academic discipline from a research and teaching perspective.
• Moreover, there will be an assessment of the applicant’s ability to perform research and teaching management tasks.
• Further information on the appointment procedure can be found in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.
• The appointment is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
• Remuneration is in accordance with the above, and the Salary agreement catalogue for staff at Health.
• The yearly base salary for a fulltime professor is DKK 866.461,38 (including a position related supplement, a pre-agreed professor supplement and pension (18.07%)). Additional supplement(s) can be negotiated dependent on experience, special qualifications and performance of special functions. Professors have the authority to negotiate pay on their own behalf.
• Researchers recruited from abroad are offered a special researcher tax scheme with a lower tax rate.
• Travel and moving expenses may be covered according to the employee in question and, to a limited extent, the accompanying family.
• Further information on qualification requirements and job description can be found in the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Application

Your application must include the following:

• Motivated application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diploma
• Template for applicant - professor
• A list of publications
• A teaching portfolio. We refer to Guideline on the use of teaching portfolios
• The ten publications stated as the most important in the 'Template for applicant - professor' must be submitted
• Research plan, which is part of the 'Template to applicant - professor' can be uploaded separately (optional)
• Coauthor statement(s) can be uploaded (optional)
• References/recommendations can be uploaded separately in the e-recruitment system (optional)

We refer to the faculty’s Guidelines for applicants.

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.

 

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including assistance with relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about the International Staff Office and the range of services here.

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 to its 37,000 students (FTEs) and 8.700 employees and has an annual revenue of EUR 1.106 billion. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/