Postdoctoral Researcher in Genetic Epidemiology of Aging

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

Do you want to contribute to better health for all?

A postdoctoral position is available within the Aging and Health group at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. The group is involved in a wide variety of research projects, including twin and family studies, genetic epidemiology and molecular epidemiology.

Your mission

The successful applicant will conduct large-scale studies to explore risk and protective factors for dementia. A large focus will be using genetic design to understand associations and disease risk, and applying a lifetime approach to study age-specific effects. The project will include analyses of large collections of twin data from the Swedish Twin Registry and other data sources within the “Clarify risk and protective factors for dementia with the Interplay of Genes and Environment in Multiple Studies (IGEMS) consortium”. This includes a large collection of twins in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the USA, and Australia. The project will entail managing and harmonizing of large twin data from various cohorts and countries, as well as retrieving registry data (e.g. healthcare registers to retrieve disease diagnoses) and linking to existing data. In addition, the work will include working on genetic data to retrieve polygenic scores and analyze heritability. There will be ample opportunities to collaborate with other researchers involved in the IGEMS consortium. This is a position of 2 years with possibility of extension.

Questions regarding the role, please contact Sara Hägg. Contact information can be found below.

Your profile

To be eligible, the applicant must have a PhD degree in medical science, preferably in genetic or molecular epidemiology in the field of aging. In addition, the following qualities are considered desirable:

Solid knowledge of epidemiological study design and statistical analyses.
Substantial experience in handling large data.
Experience with analyzing cross-sectional and longitudinal data in an aging context.
Experience with genetic methods such as computation of polygenic scores, genome-wide association analyses, and estimation of SNP-based and twin-based heritability.
Experience with registry-based data and data harmonization.
Excellent data management skills and a solid knowledge of R, SAS, or STATA.
Experience in working with genetic data in the Unix environment.
Excellent writing skills and command of written and spoken Swedish and English.
Previous experience in applying for research funding.
Experience with international consortium work.
Experience in organizing and carrying out research projects.
An ability to collaborate with colleagues within and beyond the group.
Organized, efficient, and flexible in dealing with unpredictability and changes.

Qualified to be employed as a postdoctor is one who has obtained a doctorate or has equivalent scientific competence. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) date of employment. This must be substantiated by the applicant's main supervisor, director or equivalent.

What do we offer?

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. Karolinska Institutet is a state university, which entitles employees to several benefits such as extended holiday and a generous occupational pension. Employees also have free access to our modern gym and receive reimbursements for medical care.

Location: Solna

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
A complete list of publications
A summary of current work (no more than one page)

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all