Researcher in Psychiatric Genetics

About the position 

At the Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, there is a research position available (SKO 1109). The Centre runs a series of multidisciplinary studies involving hospital departments in Oslo and several research groups at the University of Oslo. The main goal is to develop tools and knowledge for precision medicine in psychiatry, building on advanced statistical methods for analysis of large-scale human genetic and neuroimaging data, to better understand how biological, psychological, and environmental factors contribute to severe mental and neuropsychiatric disorders, their treatment, and outcomes.

The Centre has access to a large database of biomarkers, clinical, and cognitive variables, genotyping and sequencing data, and MRI brain imaging data on patients with neuropsychiatric and severe mental disorders. In addition, we work closely with national population cohorts (MoBa, HUSK, HUNT), and collaborate with Nordic partners to leverage the registry and biobank information across countries, as well as large international consortia, including the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) and the ENIGMA consortium.

For more information: Precision psychiatry

Project description

The current position is part of the PASS-BD project funded by the Research Council of Norway. Using data from well characterized clinical cohorts and several Norwegian registers, the project aims to study substance use in individuals with bipolar disorder. Specifically, we aim to identify risk factors (genes, environment and their interplay) for bipolar disorder, and bipolar disorder-substance use comorbidity, and to translate these findings to develop ‘precision psychiatry’ tools to stratify affected individuals based on their individual risk profiles.

Job description

To contribute to the goal of the project, the researcher hired for the current position will be involved in multivariate data analysis of big data on genotyped clinical and population samples with registry data. 

The research will involve

• statistical genetics
• bioinformatics
• machine learning and Bayesian data analysis
• molecular genetics
• novel bio-statistical methods

The researcher will work in a multidisciplinary team with clinicians as well as with experts in statistics, applied mathematics, big data analysis, and computer science. The researcher will work with the Centre’s datasets, analytical methodology, and computational tools, including state-of-the-art data storage and research infrastructure, hosted at the USIT TSD service (https://www.uio.no/english/services/it/research/sensitive-data/index.html).

The position has external funding for two years and is available as soon as possible.

Qualifications

Applicants are required to have 

• a doctoral degree (PhD) in statistical genetics, applied mathematics, computer science, medicine, psychology, molecular genetics, or equivalent
• a strong command of spoken and written English

 

Applicants should have  

• experience with handling of large-scale human genotype data (quality control, and polygenic analysis)
• skills in programming and scripting languages (Python/R/Matlab)
• a genuine interest in applying analytical methodology and tools for precision medicine in psychiatry
• expertise and experience in clinical psychiatry is an advantage

What are we looking for in you?  

A successful candidate should possess the following strengths: 

• Capability to work in multidisciplinary teams
• Personal suitability for the position as well as genuine motivation for the project.

The ideal candidate has expertise in psychiatry, to be able to design the analyses to target relevant clinical questions. It is important to have advanced experience with statistical genetics, programming skills and hands-on experience with high performance computing and big data analysis. Background from the health care sector and experience from international multi-site research collaborations can also be useful. 

We offer 

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
•  A pleasant and professionally stimulating work environment 
• Good welfare schemes.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Researcher, position code 1109, in salary range NOK 595 500 - 679 700 depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

Application

Your application must include:

• Cover letter with statement of motivation for applying for the position, scientific background, and research interests.
• CV (summarizing education, relevant work experiences etc.).
• A complete list of publications and academic works.
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only).
• Contact information for 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number).

Application with attachments must be submitted in our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Rules for the use of research posts SKO 1108, 1109, 1110 and 1183 at UiO.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.

Contact information

Questions regarding the position:

• Dr. Kevin O’Connell, k.s.oconnell@medisin.uio.no 
• Professor Ole Andreassen, o.a.andreassen@medisin.uio.no

Questions regarding application form:

• HR-advisor Aina Sandvik, a.k.sandvik@medisin.uio.no