Artificial intelligence for infection-driven cancers

Applicants are invited for a double degree PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Biological and Chemical Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 January 2027 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

The position is part of the MSCA project TagTIC - Target mining for the development of therapeutics against pathogen-induced cancers, ID: 101311627, Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01. Project website: tagtic.eu

Note that this is a double degree PhD project within an MSCA Joint Doctorate. Under the currently planned arrangement, the candidate will work for approximately three years at TissueGnostics GmbH in Vienna, Austria, and one year at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Title:
Artificial intelligence for infection-driven cancers

Research area and project description:
Microbial infections are increasingly recognized as important contributors to cancer, but identifying the spatial tissue features and molecular signatures associated with infection-driven disease remains challenging. Integrating tissue imaging with spatial transcriptomics and microbiome information offers opportunities to characterize disease-associated patterns and improve biomarker discovery.

Consortium: This PhD postion is part of the interdisciplinary TagTIC consortium, which brings together expertise in microbiology, virology, oncology, immunology, medicinal chemistry, imaging, AI, and bioinformatics, with support from associated partners in biotech, diagnostics, and science communication. Its collaborative structure allows doctoral candidates to work within a network where discovery science, technology development, training, and societal impact are closely connected.

Project DC11: This PhD is part of the TagTIC consortium. It combines machine learning with image analysis to support precision oncology. The aim is to develop AI algorithms that integrate tissue imaging, spatial transcriptomics and microbiome data (multiomics) to identify biomarkers and predict disease progression.

Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Salary, holiday payment, pension contributions and the like include all employer and employee's taxes and contributions. Thus, figures are before taxes are paid, and taxes may differ depending on individual circumstances. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement and national rules of the employing institution. The allowances mentioned in the EU work programme (living allowance, mobility allowance and, if applicable, family allowance) will be part of the salary in accordance with MSCA rules.

Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants to the PhD position must have a relevant master's degree in biology, biotechnology, molecular medicine, biomedicine, microbiology, cancer biology, bioengineering, bioinformatics or a closely related field.

General Criteria:

• MSCA Mobility Rule: researchers must comply with the mobility rule applicable to the country of the recruiting beneficiary.
• All researchers recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment).
• Applicants must fulfil the admission requirements of the participating degree-awarding universities for the TagTIC Joint Doctorate.
• Scientific excellence and a strong fit with the PhD project
• Fluent (oral and written) English skills as the project operates in English
• Scientific curiosity, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Team-mindedness and willingness to work in an interdisciplinary and international environment

Required skills:

• Proficiency in artificial intelligence/machine-learning concepts, relevant frameworks, and Python programming
• Experience with Julia, R, or C++, together with knowledge of statistics, is an advantage
• An excellent academic background and strong interdisciplinary interest in artificial intelligence, cancer, infection biology, and drug discovery research

Place of employment and place of work:
Note that this is a double degree PhD project.

Under the currently planned arrangement, the candidate will work at TissueGnostics GmbH, Austria, for three years and at Aarhus University (AU), Denmark, for one year, including at least 12 months at AU for the double-degree arrangement. The detailed employment, doctoral enrolment, and mobility schedule will be confirmed in the applicable agreements and approved TagTIC training plan.

The place of work at Aarhus University is Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, Building 3133, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. The place of work at TissueGnostics GmbH is Taborstraße 10/2/8, 1020 Vienna, Austria.

EU eligibility requirements in Marie Curie Doctoral Networks:

• Supported researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis, but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
• Researchers supported must be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, and for Joint Doctorates in at least two.
• Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.
• Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent by the researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered.
• Secondments are eligible for up to one third of the actual months spent implementing the research training activities under the action.
• For Joint Doctorates, doctoral candidates must be enrolled in programmes leading to a joint, double or multiple doctoral degree involving at least two degree-awarding institutions.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Cindrilla Chumduri, cindrilla.chumduri@bce.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Rupert Ecker, Rupert.ecker@tissuegnostics.com (co-supervisor; CEO, TissueGnostics GmbH)

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 25 November 2026 at 23:59 CET

Preferred starting date is 01 January 2027.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be considered.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which everyone has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.