About the position

A full-time position as Head engineer/lab engineer (SKO1087 ) is available in the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC) at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The appointment is for 1 year and linked to the project “Lifebrain: Breaking new ground in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience” funded by the Research Council of Norway. The possibility of extension is pending on further external funding

The position is suited for a person with strong programming competence and interest in signal and image processing. Imaging of the human brain by MRI and PET is central to LCBC research, and included in all projects. The announced position is critical for the success of these projects.

Main programs used for analyses are FreeSurfer (http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/) and FSL(http://fsl.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/fslwiki/) in addition to custom made procedures, and the group cooperates with the developers of these programs. Custom-made procedures are run in Matlab or R, and the lab environment is Linux.

This is an ideal position for a highly talented person dedicated to work within neuroinformatics, neuroimaging and human neuroscience.

Main tasks will include

• Data preprocessing and higher-level analyses
• Automated and manual quality control of data
• Implementation and maintenance of the LCBC processing pipeline
• Participate in development and maintenance of the LCBC neuroimaging database
• Contributions to implementation and testing of new processing procedures

The candidate is expected to work closely with other researchers at LCBC as well as with our international collaborators.

Qualification requirements

The successful candidate has a master’s degree or similar in a relevant field, such as biomedical engineering, informatics, physics, mathematics or neuroscience, although other backgrounds, such as psychology or medicine, may be acceptable given extraordinary skills and interests. Further requirements:

• high competence in scripting in Linux and programming in Python, Matlab or similar is necessary
• excellent command of English, orally and in writing

In addition, it is considered an asset, but not a requirement, to have experience with neuroimaging, especially FreeSurfer and FSL. Training and supervision will be provided.

In assessing applications, the qualifications stated above will guide the process. After the initial screening process, interviews with selected candidates may be arranged where the applicants’ personal prerequisites and cooperative skills will be emphasized.

The research center

LCBC is an active, international multi-disciplinary research center, led by Professors Kristine B. Walhovd, Anders M Fjell and René Westerhausen, with a staff of about 25 full time positions, including 8 faculty positions (3 professors, 1 researcher, 2 engineers, 2 administrative positions), 3 postdoctoral fellows, 7 PhD candidates and 10 research support staff positions. We have staff from eight different countries, and English is the language of the lab.

The center has an interdisciplinary approach, with researchers from different fields such as psychology, medicine, neuroscience, physics, informatics, mathematics and engineering. LCBC was in 2015, as one of five, appointed status as a “world leading” research group at the University of Oslo. We encourage the interested applicant to visit www.oslobrains.no for more details about LCBC and our research.

LCBC constitutes an extremely active and stimulating learning environment for the skilled and interested candidate.

The research

Cognition – the ability to attend, remember and reason - is pivotal to all aspects of human life. Yet cognitive functioning varies considerably among and within human beings across the lifespan. The main aim of LCBC research is to explain, predict and promote cognitive function from birth to old age, in health and disease. In addition to studies of development and aging, we also research diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and biomedical risks such as prenatal drug exposure. Cognitive measures, imaging of brain activity and structure, genetics, molecular biology and registry information are systematically applied across large samples of participants from 4 to 90+ years. Neuroimaging is central to all LCBC projects, and we thus devote large resources to infrastructure and manpower dedicated to imaging of the brain. Last year we got our own 3T Siemens Prisma MRI scanner, situated at the department of radiology of the Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet.

We offer

• salary: 464 800 – 515 200 NOK per year/ ≈ 56 899 – 63 069 USD per year/ ≈ 50 495 – 55 971 € per year, depending on qualifications
• professional development in a stimulating academic environment
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

• Letter of application, 1-2 pages, explaining the motivation for applying
• Curriculum Vitae summarizing education, positions and academic work
• Copies of educational certificates, complete list of publications and, if applicable, publications/academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number).

International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system. All documents should be in English.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our recruiting system.

Formal regulations

Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o. According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act information about an applicant may be included in the public applicants list, even if the applicant has requested non-disclosure. The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

Head of administration Birgitte Bøgh-Olsen

Phone number: +47 22845104

E-mail: birgitte.bogh-olsen@psykologi.uio.no

Professor and project leader: Anders M. Fjell

E-mail: andersmf@psykologi.uio.no

Apply for position