Karolinska Institutet, MEB

The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics conducts research in epidemiology and biostatistics across a broad range of areas within biomedical science. The department is among the largest of its type in Europe and has especially strong research profiles in psychiatric, cancer, reproductive, pediatric, pharmaco, genetic, and geriatric epidemiology, eating disorders, precision medicine, and biostatistics.

Part of the success of our department is due to our collaborative spirit where one factor is that researchers at the Department share and co-finance common resources (e.g., IT and an applied biostatistics group). The department is situated at campus Solna. Further information can be found at http://ki.se/en/meb

A doctoral student is admitted to third-cycle/doctoral education. A doctoral education consists of supervised research, combined with courses and other educational activities. An individual study plan is established for each doctoral student. For a doctoral degree, the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education is required.

Research Group
The PhD student will become a member of the Aging research group at MEB. The Aging group consists of four research groups led by Assistant professor Juulia Jylhävä, Associate professor Sara Hägg, Senior Professor Nancy Pedersen and Professor Kristina Johnell, respectively. The four research groups collaborate closely together and have common weekly group meetings. Researchers in the Aging group work widely with different topics of aging and aging diseases, such as frailty, cardiovascular disease, dementia and Parkinson’s disease. The main supervisor for this PhD position is Assistant professor Juulia Jylhävä, whose group focuses on the molecular epidemiology of frailty and aging biomarkers. The group is deeply collaborative, working with researchers in Denmark, Finland, US, UK and Germany. We make use of various epidemiological and omics approaches, and use multiple large datasets, such as the Swedish and Danish Twin Registry cohorts and the UK Biobank. Co-supervisors in this PhD project are Associate professor Sara Hägg (KI, MEB), Biostatistician Dr. Ralf Kuja-Halkola (KI, MEB) and Professor Chandra Reynolds (University of California – Riverside, Riverside, CA, US).

Area of responsibilities/description of the work
Applications are invited for a PhD research training position to work on aging-related frailty syndrome, focusing on the genetics, epigenetics, metabolomics and circulatory biomarkers underlying the disease. The work includes epidemiological and omics approaches as well as quantitative genetics (twin modeling). The applicant must have a strong interest in aging and aging-related disease, and aptitude to learn multiple methods within the different areas in the project. The PhD student will be part of the Doctoral programme in Epidemiology at KI that includes courses into epidemiology and biostatistics.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral education
In order to participate in the selection for a doctoral position, you must meet the following general (A) and specific (B) eligibility requirements at latest by the application deadline. It is your responsibility to certify eligibility by following the instructions on the web page: Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

A) General eligibility requirement
You meet the general eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

  1. have been awarded a second-cycle/advanced/master qualification (i.e. master degree) or
  2. have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the advanced/second-cycle/master level, or
  3. have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.*

Follow the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.
*If you claim equivalent knowledge, follow the instructions on the web page Assessing equivalent knowledge for general eligibility for doctoral education.

B) Specific eligibility requirement
You meet the specific eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

  • Show proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school.

Follow the instructions on the web page English language requirements for doctoral education.

Verification of your documents
Karolinska Institutet checks the authenticity of your documents. Karolinska Institutet reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent. Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

Skills and personal qualities

  • The applicant should have a master’s degree in biomedical or health sciences, epidemiology, gerontology, genetics, bioinformatics, biostatistics, statistics or related discipline, and have a strong interest in aging and aging-related disease.
  • The applicant should have at least some knowledge or training in genetics and epidemiology
  • Programming skills in R is considered a strong merit.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
  • The applicant should be able to work well in a team, as well as having the ability to work independently.

Terms and conditions
The doctoral student will be employed on a doctoral studentship maximum 4 years full-time.

Application process
Submit your application and supporting documents through the Varbi recruitment system. Use the button in the top right corner and follow the instructions.
Your application should contain the following documents:

  • A personal letter and a curriculum vitae (Swedish or English)
  • Degree projects and previous publications, if any (Swedish or English)
  • Academic transcripts, covering all courses you have taken as an undergraduate and Master's student
  • Any other documentation showing the desirable skills and personal qualities described above (Swedish or English)
  • Documents certifying your general eligibility (see A above)
  • Documents certifying your specific eligibility (see B above)

Selection
A selection will be made among eligible applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

KI uses the following bases of assessment:

  • Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
  • Analytical skill
  • Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject.

All applicants will be informed when the recruitment is completed.

Type of employment PhD placement
Contract type Full time
First day of employment According to agreement
Salary According to agreement
Reference number 2-4345/2019
Contact
  • Juulia Jylhävä, juulia.jylhava@ki.se
  • Sofia Anderberg, sofia.anderberg@ki.se
Union representative
  • Ann Almqvist, OFR, ann.almqvist@ki.se
  • Ulrika Zagai, SACO, ulrika.zagai@ki.se
  • Henry Wölling, SEKO, henry.wolling@ki.se
Published 30.Aug.2019
Last application date 30.Sep.2019 11:59 PM CEST

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