At the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Science and Technology, a position as Associate Professor in Pain Neuromodulation at the Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP) is open for appointment from June 1, 2026, or soon thereafter.
The position is time-limited with a duration of two years, and it is part-time with a workload corresponding to 80% of a full-time equivalent.

At Department of Health Science and Technology we conduct research, teaching and innovation within engineering, biomedicine, sports science, public health, neuroscience, psychology, and physiotherapy to develop sustainable technological solutions. Our mission is to contribute to increased quality of life for the benefit of the individual human being and society.

We take active part in implementing the 2030 vision of the Faculty of Medicine: to become leading within digital health and well-known for doctors and engineers finding solutions together. Our mission is to drive positive societal impact through cutting-edge research and innovation, with a strong focus on digital health. We are dedicated to addressing four grand challenges that shape our vision for a healthier and more sustainable future.

We educate bachelors and Masters of Science within biomedical engineering, medicine, medicine with industrial specialization, biomedical engineering, sports science, public health, and clinical health and technology. Our graduates contribute to setting the agenda for future needs and solutions for increased public health and implementation of new health knowledge and technologies.

Currently, our department has approximately 230 employees, 70 Ph.D.-students enrolled in the Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical Science and Technology, and 1,900 students in our bachelors and master’s programs. We hold state of the art research and teaching facilities 
You can read more about our department at our web page and research portal 

Job description
The primary responsibility of the position is to conduct high-level research within the field of pain and neuroplasticity at the Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP). This includes designing and conducting clinical trials and experimental research in patients with chronic pain and related conditions. CNAP is a Research Center of Excellence inaugurated in 2015 by the Danish National Research Foundation. CNAP strives to identify and modulate key features of human pain neuroplasticity and to understand their relevance for persistent pain in humans. CNAP applies advanced biomedical approaches to provoke, probe, and modulate the dynamic neuroplastic properties of the pain system, aiming to generate fundamental discoveries and novel strategies for pain treatment.

Candidates must hold a master’s degree in medicine and a PhD with a research focus within the pain field. The successful candidate is expected to conduct patient-based research and clinical trials in chronic pain populations and to have documented experience with neuromodulation strategies. In particular, candidates must have hands-on expertise in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including repetitive TMS (rTMS), combined with electroencephalography (EEG), and experience with associated clinical and neurophysiological assessments.

The candidate is further expected to contribute to teaching and supervision of PhD students and research students, especially in the use of clinical and experimental pain models, rTMS, and EEG, and to actively participate in the interdisciplinary research activities at CNAP. CNAP is a dynamic and international research environment, with approximately 60% international staff and a close to equal gender balance. English is the working language. The Center is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together expertise in biomedical engineering, neuropsychology, pharmacology, biophysics, medicine with industrial specialization, medicine, and related fields. CNAP maintains an extensive international network and participates in numerous global research initiatives, providing an inspiring and collaborative environment for building strong scientific partnerships and an independent research profile.

The following criteria will apply
To achieve merit at associate professor level, we expect that the candidate has experience with teaching, research or innovation, and knowledge dissemination. The candidate should be able to demonstrate significant contributions within ‘research or innovation’ or ‘teaching or education’. We expect that the candidate: 

• demonstrates a potential to establish an individual research profile and independent research area
•  can document significant contributions within his/her own research area or within innovation. This may be through data collection, data curation, programming, modelling, experiments, open science, development, cooperation with companies, or other activities which may result in publications, patents, receipt of external funding, or the like
• has experience with applications for external funding as main applicant (PI) or co-applicant (co-PI)
• has experience with national and/or international research cooperation or establishment of a network. This will be an advantage.
• should independently be able to carry out teaching, exams, and quality assurance
• has experience with presentation of science, e.g., at conferences or in other relevant forums
• has experience with sharing knowledge through an open science praxis. This will be an advantage.
• has experience with project management and teaching administration. This will be an advantage.
• has social and collegial competences the candidate able to interact with and contribute to a research group as well as the research and teaching environment at the department in a constructive manner 

The following material must be submitted with the application

• A motivated text in which the reasons for applying for the position are described
• A curriculum vitae
• Copies of relevant diplomas (Master of Science and Ph.D.), pedagogical education, and continuing education (e.g., within research management). On request, you may be asked for an official English translation
• A complete list of publications
• References/recommendations
• A research plan – i.e. a presentation of your research area and your plans/visions for developing your research
• A scientific portfolio (or similar) that documents your most relevant contributions to research. This could be through data collection, programming, modelling, experiments, development, corporation with a public or private partner that typically resulted in publications, patents, achieving external fund, or the like.
• A teaching portfolio including documentation of your teaching experiences, initiatives within teaching, experience with development of teaching materials, and curriculum development. If a portfolio is not enclosed, the applicant must include an explanation for its absence.
• An innovation and impact portfolio (or similar) that documents your experience with, e.g., public-private partnership, innovation, outreach activities, and working with the public society.
• Description of other qualifications, such as project management expertise and your experience with supervision of scientific personnel 

Qualification requirements 
Appointment as an associate professor requires research and teaching qualifications at the level that can be achieved through the satisfactory completion of a period of employment as an assistant professor but may also be obtained in other ways.  

It is a precondition that applicants have documented research at an international standard. In addition, applicants are assumed to have received supervision and pedagogical skills development and to have obtained a positive written assessment of their teaching qualifications.

You can read more about the requirements for your application here.    

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University's website.  

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position. 

Do you have any questions? 
If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.     

Further information 
Read more about our recruitment process here   

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.  

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace. 

Salary and terms of employment  
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish). 

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish). 

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers, students, and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights, new solutions to societal problems, and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg, but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.