About the position

We have a two-year Researcher position available at the University of Oslo, affiliated with the Centre for Precision Psychiatry at the Institute of Clinical Medicine. The position is part of the project Back2Future - Multimodal metabolic markers for mechanisms and predictive trajectories of Alzheimer's disease and is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The overall goal of the project is to uncover early metabolic markers of Alzheimer's disease and integrate these metabolic pathways with multimodal MRI, cognitive and blood biomarkers to develop personalized, longitudinal trajectories for individual prediction of AD onset using a novel 'AD Avatar' algorithm. The Researcher hired for this position 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).

More about the position

The Centre for Precision Psychiatry is dedicated to research on severe mental and neuropsychiatric disorders. 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 (Tromsø, 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 about the Centre, please visit our website: https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/research/centres/precision-psychiatry/

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.

Your main tasks will be

Lead the genetic architecture mapping of circulating metabolites and proteins (NMR metabolomics, proteomics), including large-scale GWAS and identification of pleiotropic variants shared with Alzheimer's disease and related traits.
Develop and apply multimodal biomarker trajectory models integrating multi-omics data (metabolomics, proteomics), brain MRI measures, and genetic risk scores, using mixed-effects and polygenic modelling frameworks across large population biobanks.
Perform cross-cohort federated analyses of metabolomics and imaging genetics data across Norwegian population cohorts and Nordic/international biobanks, using the UiO secure high performance computing infrastructure.
Integrate findings across work packages to inform the development of the multimodal AD prediction algorithm, and contribute to interpretation and dissemination of results in collaboration with clinical and computational team members.

Our research environment is international, friendly and inspiring, and the position represents a unique opportunity for career development for a hard-working candidate.

Qualifications

Required skills

Appointment to the position of researcher in position code 1109 requires a doctoral degree in statistical genetics, imaging genetics, genetic epidemiology, or a related quantitative field, with a focus on multi-omics or metabolomics data applied in the context of brain disorders
Demonstrated expertise in the genetic architecture of complex traits, including GWAS, genetic architecture, and pleiotropy analyses of metabolites, proteins, or related biomarkers.
Hands-on experience with large population biobanks (e.g. UK Biobank and Estonian Biobank) and high-performance computing environments for analysis of large-scale multi-omics and genotype data.
Experience with NMR metabolomics and multimodal MRI data processing, quality control, and downstream analysis pipelines.
Strong programming skills in R and/or Python for statistical genetics and bioinformatics workflows.
A strong publication record with first-author papers in international peer-reviewed journals
A strong command of oral and written English.

Preferred skills

Familiarity with brain MRI genetics (imaging genetics), including vertex- or voxel-wise GWAS and multivariate methods for brain-body integration.
A track record of independent research, evidenced by competitive personal grant funding and experience leading or co-leading international multisite research collaborations.

Personal skills

Proven ability to lead complex analytical projects across multiple datasets, with high working capacity and productivity.
Excellent teamwork and supervisory skills, with the ability to coordinate across a multidisciplinary team of researchers spanning genetics, neuroimaging, and clinical disciplines.
Strong scientific drive and a demonstrated commitment to integrating metabolomics, genetics, and brain imaging for precision medicine in neuropsychiatric disease.

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, includingpersonal qualifications.

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 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 stimulating work environment
Good welfare schemes.
Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
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 from 700 000 to 820 000, 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.

Application

Your application should include:

Application letter.
CV.
A complete list of publications.
Transcripts and certificates.
Contact information for 2-3 references.

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 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.

Researcher in Metabolomics at Centre for Precision Psychiatry