Postdoctoral position in developmental psychology and behaviour genetics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Division
Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND) is a competence center focusing on research, development and education about neurodevelopmental disorders. KIND is a part of the Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

We welcome applications for a postdoctoral position in developmental cognitive neuroscience in the research group headed by Dr. Terje Falck-Ytter, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet.

This position is tied to the BABYTWINS study, in which we assess brain (EEG) and behavior (including eye movements) in 5 month old twins who are subsequently followed to the age of three years of age. A key aim is to understand etiological factors behind early brain and behavioral processes that predict later variability in important domains such as language, social-communication and behavioral flexibility. This aim will be realized through structural equation twin model-fitting analyses of these newly acquired twin data. The study is funded by the Swedish Foundation for the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

BABYTWINS is led by Dr Falck-Ytter in collaboration with Professor Angelica Ronald (Birkbeck, University of London), and currently consists of two PhD students and three research assistants. The postdoc will be supervised by Falck-Ytter and Ronald.

Representative publications from the team:

Kennedy, D. P., D’Onofrio, B. M., Quinn, P. D., Bölte, S., Lichtenstein, P., & Falck-Ytter, T. (2017). Genetic Influence on Eye Movements to Complex Scenes at Short Timescales. Current Biology, 27(22), 3554-3560. e3553.

Micalizzi, L., Ronald, A. & Saudino, K. J. (2016). Genetically Informed Cross-lagged Analysis of Autistic-Like Traits and Affective Problems in Early Childhood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 937-947.

Papageorgiou, K. A., Smith, T. J., Wu, R., Johnson, M. H., Kirkham, N. Z. & Ronald, A. (2014). Individual differences in infant fixation duration relate to attention and behavioral control in childhood. Psychological Science, 25,1371-1379.

Duties
The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, conducting and reporting a series of key analyses from the study for publication in peer reviewed journals, in close collaboration with the other senior members of the team. The position provides an excellent opportunity for transition to career independence. The candidate is also expected to serve as a resource for more junior lab members. You will have the opportunity to supervise and train students and research assistants.

Entry requirements
Applicants should have a PhD in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral genetics, or a related field with a strong publication record. The candidate should have a strong quantitative research background. Particular strength in independent quantitative statistical analysis of complex datasets is an essential criterion of the post. Excellent oral and written English language skills are required.

You must be able to work independently as well as work in a team and to be able to supervise more junior team members. We seek a reliable, ambitious and effective team member motivated to produce the best possible science.

Non-essential criteria: The following are preferred but not required qualifications:

• Experience with structural equation twin modelling
• Experience with research in developmental psychology
• Strong computational programming skills
• Experience with eye tracking or EEG

Application process
An employment application must contain the following documents in English:

1. A letter describing why you are interested in and suitable for the position, with explicit reference to the criteria stated above (no more than one page)
2. A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defense, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
3. A complete list of publications (mark the two most relevant for this position with *) 
4. A summary of current work (no more than one page)
5. Verifications for crediting of illness, military service, work for labour unions or student organisations, parental leave or similar circumstances

Start for this position is on the 1st of june 2018, full-time position for estimated 2 years with possible extension.

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