Postdoctoral position for investigating clinical-biological profiles of risk and intervention response in precision prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Division and research group

Professor Miia Kivipelto’s research group - the Nordic Brain Network (NBN) - is part of the division of Clinical Geriatrics and belongs to KI Center for Alzheimer Research. The largest part of this multidisciplinary research team is mainly located at KI (Q-huset, Solna-Stockholm), but team members are also present at the Karolinska University Hospital, in Finland and UK.

Professor Kivipelto’s research group carries out internationally renowned research focusing on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The research team has carried out different prevention trials and are involved in several international collaborations and networks (Link to Nordic Brain Network).

Professor Kivipelto is the PI of the landmark FINGER randomized controlled trial (Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability), the first large-scale trial showing that people at risk for dementia from the general population can benefit from a multi-domain lifestyle-based intervention. Professor Kivipelto is also the Investigator in charge of the database and biobank for clinical dementia research at the Karolinska Theme Aging memory clinics in Solna and Huddinge. These large interventional and observational cohorts covering the whole spectrum from ‘at risk’ persons (general population) to memory clinic patients (subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias) offer a unique opportunity to study the determinants of the risk and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The NBN group have recently launched a collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry aiming to increase the understanding of early disease mechanisms and to improve risk prediction and treatment strategies. The goal of this partnership is to investigate the clinical-biological profiles of Alzheimer’s disease risk and identify potential mechanisms behind cognitive decline and the response to a multidomain preventive intervention.

Your mission

The candidate is expected to work with data from both observational and interventional studies, conduct statistical analyses and prepare scientific articles independently, and support with the supervision of PhD students. The candidate will also have a key role with coordinating the project, and he/she works as a main link between the team members and the various clinical, statistical, and biomedical subprojects. The project tasks also include the preparation of regular progress reports and other project-related documentation.  

Given that NBN is an international team located in several European countries, international collaboration and traveling is expected.

The candidate is expected to work with a complex project where biomedical and clinical data from different sources are combined and multiple research questions and target populations (i.e., clinical trial participants, memory clinic patients) are investigated together, and will have opportunities for further education and skills development. This will give the candidate the possibility to further develop his/her role and career.

Your profile

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.

To qualify, the candidate must have a PhD degree in a field relevant to clinical neuroscience/ biomedicine. Due to the complexity of the project, the applicant must have:

• previous experience and a comprehensive understanding of clinical research on biomarkers, co-morbidities and phenotyping of Alzheimer disease
• experience with analyzing both clinical trial data and observational study data
• experience of independent management of tasks and responsibilities related to project coordination, preferably in a multinational and multidisciplinary setting
• independent preparations of scientific articles, grant applications and applications to the ethical review board

Due to the nature of the project (strategic collaboration with pharmaceutical industry), knowledge of clinical drug research and development is an important asset. A strong publication record, as well as successful grant applications (in competition) are desirable.

Excellent spoken and written English is required. Basic knowledge of Swedish language would be an important asset. The successful candidate should show a high level of responsibility and independence, have a positive, proactive, problem solving attitude, and be an active team player in our large and dynamic multidisciplinary group. The candidate will be involved in the supervision of master students and PhD students, experience from teaching and supervision is thus an advantage.

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: Q-huset, Solna

Your career continues here

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)

Welcome to apply at the latest 2020-12-14.

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

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