About the position

A three-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is available at the Department of Behavioural Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IMB), University of Oslo.

The position is linked to the research project “Communicating drug evidence to support kind and careful health decisions.”

The Postdoctoral Fellow will work under the supervision of Professor Per Olav Vandvik and collaborate closely with national and international partners, including MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation (with Vandvik as founder and now chief scientist) and leading research groups in Europe (LSE, Oxford, KU Leuven) and North America (Harvard, Dartmouth).

The Postdoctoral Fellow will be part of the Department of Behavioural Medicine at IMB, a multidisciplinary environment focusing on health behaviour, decision-making, and clinical communication.

Project description

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has produced major advances, as exemplified by digital and trustworthy living guidelines and tools for shared decision-making (SDM) in an enhanced evidence ecosystem (www.magicevidence.org). Implementation barriers include clinicians and patients facing time pressure and increasingly complex treatment choices. The breakthrough for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) holds great potential, yet its trustworthiness and impact on care remains uncertain. Integration of EBM, behavioural science and technology holds potential to unlock key barriers along the road to kind and careful patient care.

Within this context, the project will investigate how evidence on treatment benefits, harms, burden and uncertainty is communicated and used and how this – through improved decision support tools and AI - affects decision-making in practice. The project is likely to primarily focus on drugs within selected clinical topics such as oncology, chronic pain and diabetes due to ongoing projects and opportunities.

This position offers a unique opportunity to conduct high-impact research embedded in global guideline development and evidence-to-practice initiatives. The fellow will work within an international network of leading researchers, clinicians, journals, and policy organisations and will have opportunities for high-impact publications and extensive networking.

The appointment is a full-time position for a period of three years (10% devoted to career-promoting work, usually teaching).

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in top academic positions. All postdoctoral fellows must submit a Career Development Plan within one month after starting.

Starting date: As soon as possible and no later than September 1, 2026.

Main responsibilities

Conduct quantitative and qualitative research, including user-testing, surveys and randomized controlled trials
Contribute to development and evaluation of decision aids and digital tools using in real-life living guidelines at the international level
Collaborate with international research partners and clinical institutions
Publish results in high-impact peer-reviewed journals
Present research at international conferences
Contribute to teaching and supervision where appropriate
Take a major role in development of grant applications (e.g., Research Council of Norway, EU Horizon)

Qualifications

Qualification requirements

Hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in medicine, psychology, clinical epidemiology, health services research, behavioural science, or a related field. The doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the application deadline.
Demonstrate methodological competence in EBM and health services research
Provide a record of strong scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Demonstrate excellent written and oral English skills.

Desired qualifications

Experience with evidence-based medicine, systematic review and guideline methodology (e.g., GRADE), shared decision-making, clinical or health services research, experimental or survey methods, digital health, AI, or implementation science is advantageous. Clinical experience is also beneficial.

Personal qualities

Highly motivated, creative and innovative with the ability to demonstrate original scientific thinking
Able to work independently and collaboratively
Structured and able to manage complex projects
Strong in analytical thinking and problem solving
Communicative and able to work across disciplines

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps, we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

We can offer you

Excellent mentorship to support your growth as senior academic at the global level.
Opportunities to conduct research with MAGIC; embedded in international guideline development and policy processes, including collaboration with BMJ Rapid Recommendations, WHO living guidelines, and EU Horizon projects.
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.
Engaged colleagues in a supportive and inclusive working environment.
Good welfare schemes.
Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
A workplace with excellent opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
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 Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK from 610 000 - 680 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.
Oslo`s family friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.

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

Application

Your application should include:

Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via 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 cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts 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.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Evidence-Based and Behavioural Medicine