Postdoctoral researcher in women’s health epidemiology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We seek a postdoctoral researcher who will work in the Unit of Integrative Epidemiology at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet. The main goal of research activities in the Unit is to improve the understanding of the causes and consequences of ill health and disease, with a focus on psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.

The postdoctoral research will be part of a collaborative network for women’s mental health, which involves Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the USA. The postdoc will work in close collaboration with Assistant Professor Donghao Lu at Karolinska Institutet and Professor Unnur Valdimarsdóttir at the University of Iceland. Dr. Lu leads a program to understand the underlying biological mechanisms affecting reproductive mood disorders and potential health consequences. Professor Valdimarsdóttir has long-standing experience in using Nordic health and population registers as well as longitudinal cohort studies in research of mental disorders.

The main aim of the proposed projects is to uncover risk factors and health consequences of perinatal depression using Nordic register data and large population-based prospective cohorts in Iceland and Sweden. We will take advantage of our register/genotyped data to perform genetically informed designs (for example, sibling comparison and mendelian randomization analysis). The successful applicant will play a key role in these novel projects, and will have rich interactions with senior collaborators across countries/institutions. The position is temporary for two years. 

Your mission

We seek an outstanding and innovative postdoc to join our team. We are data-rich, and need a professional-level data scientist to maximize our understanding of the data. This individual should be passionately committed to furthering knowledge of perinatal depression and to improve women’s mental health. The successful applicant will join our team and conduct research on the register data as well as genetic and other omics data. The successful applicant will be offered travel opportunities to visit other Nordic institutions (e.g. University of Iceland) and opportunities to expand the applicant’s own collaboration. The KI team has a strong track record of promoting early career researchers.

Your profile

Qualified to be employed as a postdoctoral researcher 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.

• Applicants should have a PhD in medical science such as epidemiology, biostatistics, computer science, statistics, genetics, etc. We will also consider those with PhDs in other areas but who have advanced/relevant data science skills (e.g., machine learning).

• Prior experience in professional analysis of register data and/or genetic data will be a plus.

• Applicants should be willing/flexible to travel and visit other Nordic institutions (e.g. University of Iceland) to work on projects primarily based on foreign data.

• Applicants should be highly collegial and experienced in working effectively in “team science” contexts. Successful postdocs possess exceptional organizational skills and know how to multitask.

• Applicants will be asked to describe past examples of having developed structured approaches to solving unanticipated and complex problems.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required, along with experience with scientific writing.

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

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)

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

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