Part time Research Specialist (20%) in Psychiatric Genomics, temporary position

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB) is among the largest departments of epidemiology in Europe with special focus on increasing our knowledge of the aetiology of different diseases. Our department consists of researchers, doctoral students, biostatisticians, data collectors and database administrators as well as administrative personnel, in total some 250 staff. The department is situated at campus Solna. Further information can be found at ki.se/meb.

The KI-Psychiatric Genomics Institute (KI-PGI) at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB) is looking for a part-time research specialist (20%). The KI-PGI is a systematic program established to evaluate the epidemiological, molecular, and cellular effects of genetic risk loci for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression. The director of KI-PGI is Principal Researcher Lu Yi and co-director is Professor Patrick Sullivan. The overarching goals of the KI-PGI are: on a population scale, how do genes and environment act and interact to modify risk for severe psychiatric disorders? By what molecular and cellular mechanisms do these genes act? Read more about KI-PGI here https://ki.se/en/meb/research/ki-psychiatric-genomics-institute

Your mission

We are recruiting a part-time research specialist (20%) who is experienced in populational-scale studies with comprehensive epidemiological and genomic data. The successful candidate is expected to apply data science approaches to investigate subgroups among patients with severe mental illness and to evaluate their associations with clinical outcomes. The candidate should have a strong background in genetic epidemiology and GWAS, CNV and rare variant analyses, and be responsible for data analyses, result dissemination, manuscript writing, as well as presentation and publication of findings. The overall aim is to unravel the heterogeneity of severe mental illness, to offer valuable insights into its variability, and to predict its variation in clinical presentations.

This position has a limited period of 5 months.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for employment as a Research Specialist, in addition to holding a Degree of Doctor, PhD, or having a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a Swedish doctoral degree, the applicant must have demonstrated research expertise as well as have documented research experience after defending their doctoral dissertation.

It is required that the applicant has

A PhD degree in epidemiology or genetics, as well as substantial experience in high-level analysis of multiple types of modern genomic datasets (e.g., genome-wide association, exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing, RNA-sequencing).
In-depth knowledge in both register-based research and complex trait genomics. Specific knowledge of psychiatric genomics (particularly for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) is necessary.
Strong statistical programing skills (e.g. SAS, Stata, R), as well as use of standard software packages (e.g., PLINK, IMPUTE/MACH, GCTA, GenomicSEM, LDSC), widely used pipelines (e.g., RICOPILI, EnsembleCNV), multiple methods of PRS generation (e.g., SBayesRC, PRS-CS), functional annotation and gene mapping (e.g., GSMR, Metascape) and flexibly be able to manipulate large datasets, bioinformatic integration, and pathway analysis.
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, along with ample experience in writing and publishing research articles in English
Exceptional organizational skills, know how to successfully multitask, and to solve unanticipated and complex problems.

It is meritorious that the applicant has shown

Experience of presenting scientific results in international contexts.
An established network in psychiatric genomics.

After an overall assessment of the expertise and merits of the applicants in relation to the subject area, Karolinska Institutet will determine which of them has the best potential to contribute to a positive development of the activities at KI.

What do we offer?

Choose to work at KI - Ten reasons why

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Solna

Application

We prefer that Your application is written in English, but You can also apply in Swedish. An application must contain the following documents: PhD certificate, resumé, qualifications and description of planned research, presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet's qualifications portfolio.

Welcome to apply!

The application must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

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