Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Precision Medicine and Statistical Data Science

Alexander Grande; Oslo fylke; On-site; NOK 600,000 - 690,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Good welfare schemes

Exercise time allowance

Career development opportunities

Pension scheme

Job summary

The Centre for Precision Psychiatry at the University of Oslo invites applications for a full-time 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship within the ResiliDem project. The role focuses on advanced statistical analysis of large-scale population data to identify resilience and risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

You will work with statisticians, geneticists, and data scientists, using secure infrastructure to perform data integration, model development, and interpretation

Qualifications

• PhD in statistics, mathematics, informatics, genetics, medicine, or equivalent.
• Strong programming in Python, R, or MATLAB for data analysis and method development.
• Experience with statistical analysis and data processing using relevant software.
• Experience with large-scale human datasets, including genomics and imaging data.
• Experience with image and genetic data analysis tools (FreeSurfer, FSL, PLINK).
• Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Perform advanced statistical analyses of large-scale genetic, phenotypic, environmental, and registry data.
• Develop and implement statistical methods for population-based and longitudinal data.
• Prepare, quality-check, and harmonize data from cohorts, biobanks, and registries.
• Integrate genetic with phenotypic, lifestyle, and longitudinal information to characterize heterogeneity.
• Design analytical strategies for population studies, including model development and sensitivity analyses.
• Collaborate with clinicians, statisticians, geneticists, and researchers to translate findings.
• Contribute to study design, analytical strategy, and dissemination through peer-reviewed publications.

Skills

Python

R

MATLAB

Statistical analysis

English fluency

Education

PhD in statistics / genetics / related field

Tools

FreeSurfer

FSL

PLINK

Job description

About the position

At the Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, a full-time 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is available within the Research Council of Norway-funded ResiliDem project. The position offers an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated researcher to work at the interface of statistical data analysis, population-based research, and precision medicine in neurodegenerative disorders. The ResiliDem project aims to identify resilience and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by integrating large-scale human genetic data with phenotypic, environmental, lifestyle, and registry-based information. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to data-driven and statistically rigorous analyses of complex, longitudinal human datasets, with a particular focus on understanding disease mechanisms, heterogeneity, and trajectories across the life course.

The Centre for Precision Psychiatry has access to a rich and unique data infrastructure, including large databases of biomarkers, clinical and cognitive variables, genotyping and sequencing data, and MRI brain imaging data from patients with neuropsychiatric and severe mental disorders. In addition, the Centre actively collaborates with major international consortia, including the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC), the ENIGMA consortium, and the European Alzheimer’s Disease DNA BioBank (EADB). The research environment further benefits from access to data from a broad range of national and international studies, including Norwegian population cohorts (e.g., DemGene), the UK Biobank, and the ABCD and ADNI studies.

The position is primarily focused on advanced statistical analysis and data integration. While machine learning and computational approaches may be applied where appropriate, the core emphasis of the role is on population-level data analysis, interpretation, and scientific insight generation using large-scale real-world data.

The successful candidate will work closely with an interdisciplinary research environment including statisticians, geneticists, clinicians, and data scientists, and will conduct research using state-of-the-art secure infrastructure, including the TSD platform at the University of Oslo. This postdoctoral fellowship is intended to strengthen the candidate’s scientific independence and publication record, and to provide strong qualifications for future academic or research leadership positions within precision medicine, population health, and data-driven neuroscience.

Main responsibilities

• Perform advanced statistical analyses of large-scale human genetic, phenotypic, environmental, and registry-based data to investigate resilience and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
• Develop, adapt, and implement statistical and analytical methods tailored to complex population-based and longitudinal data, including method development driven by specific scientific questions within the ResiliDem project.
• Conduct data preparation, quality assessment, and harmonization of complex datasets from population cohorts, biobanks, and health registries, including national and Nordic resources (e.g., HUNT, HUSK, DemGene) as well as international datasets.
• Integrate genetic data with phenotypic, lifestyle, environmental, and longitudinal registry information to characterize disease heterogeneity, trajectories, and modifiers across the life course.
• Design and apply robust analytical strategies for population-based and longitudinal studies, including model development, sensitivity analyses, and careful interpretation of results.
• Collaborate closely with clinicians, statisticians, geneticists, and other researchers to translate analytical findings into biological and clinical insight relevant for precision medicine.
• Contribute to the scientific development of the ResiliDem project, including study design, analytical strategy development, and dissemination of results through high-quality peer-reviewed publications.

Qualifications

Required

• A PhD in statistics, mathematics, informatics, genetics, medicine, psychology, or an equivalent field.
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or MATLAB, with emphasis on data analysis and method development.
• Solid experience in statistical analysis and data processing using relevant statistical software.
• Experience with large-scale human datasets, including genomics, omics, and/or brain imaging data.
• Experience with tools and pipelines for image analysis (e.g., FreeSurfer, FSL) and genetic data analysis (e.g., PLINK).
• Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.

Preferred

• Research experience related to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other neurodegenerative disorders.
• Experience with machine learning for large datasets.
• Experience with computational methods and workflows for handling large-scale data.

Personal skills

• Highly organized, self-driven, and goal-oriented, with strong productivity and attention to detail.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary research teams.

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal 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 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 Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK from 600 000,- to 690 000,-, 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 .

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.