Postdoctoral Researcher in Eating Disorder Epidemiology and Genetics

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

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 

You will be part of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Group at MEB, a large and diverse research group with expertise spanning areas such as genetics, neurodevelopmental conditions, and pharmacoepidemiology. Within this broader environment, you will join the Centre for Eating Disorders Innovation (CEDI), where we integrate genomic, biological, clinical, and environmental data to elucidate causal mechanisms underlying eating disorders and advance personalized approaches to detection, prevention, and treatment. CEDI provides access to richly phenotyped and genotyped cohorts linked to Swedish health registers, comprising thousands of individuals across eating disorder diagnoses and age groups. We are strongly committed to mentorship and training and aim to foster the next generation of eating disorders scientists within a collaborative, dynamic, and international research environment.

Your mission

You will work on cutting-edge research projects aimed at advancing our understanding of the causes, correlates, and course of eating disorders, with a primary focus on avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The position focuses on clarifying the complex genetic and environmental etiology of ARFID, dissecting its clinical and biological heterogeneity, and elucidating its relationships with other eating disorders as well as psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and somatic conditions.

Using some of the world’s largest and most richly phenotyped and genotyped cohorts of individuals with ARFID and other eating disorders, you will conduct large-scale genomic analyses, including cross-disorder analyses and polygenic risk score–based risk prediction, in close collaboration with the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Eating Disorders Working Group (PGC-ED). Descriptions of the two main cohorts can be found here and here.

As part of a highly collaborative international research group, you will contribute to large-scale data management and analysis, manuscript preparation, grant applications, research coordination, supervision of student projects, and dissemination of research findings. You will be encouraged to develop independent research ideas and apply for external funding.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a strong interest in ARFID and other eating disorders. The following are essential criteria:

• A PhD in a relevant discipline. This includes, but is not limited to, epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, psychiatry, psychology, or related medical sciences.
• Strong skills in data management and the ability to work with large-scale datasets.
• Strong statistical analysis skills.
• Strong programming skills in a relevant statistical software package, such as R, SAS, or Stata (R is preferred).
• Experience in the analysis of genomic data.
• Experience writing and publishing scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals within epidemiology, genetics, psychiatry, or related fields.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and oral
• A clear motivation for wanting to work with ARFID and other eating disorders.
• We place strong emphasis on personal qualities in this recruitment. The ideal candidate is self-motivated, curious, and well-organized, with the ability to take the initiative. As we are a global, multidisciplinary research group, excellent communication abilities and a collaborative mindset are essential.

The following are meriting criteria:

• Previous experience in eating disorder research, or a relevant research field (e.g. neurodevelopmental conditions or psychiatry/psychiatric epidemiology).
• Previous experience in handling large-scale survey data and/or health record data, such as Nordic register-based data.
• Publications as first author in peer reviewed journals.
• Experience from clinical work.
• Experience writing research funding applications.
• Swedish language skills.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, 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.

This is a two-year position with possibility of extension depending on funding and performance. You will be offered weekly supervision by assistant professor Dinkler. There may be teaching opportunities, dependent on interest.

Location: Solna

Centre for Eating Disorders Innovation

Lisa Dinkler

International staff

KI Postdoc Association  

Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why

Application

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

• PhD certificate
• 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!

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!