PhD Position: Interdisciplinary Study of Endocannabinoid Stress Buffering in Humans

The Faculty of Social Sciences

The Department of Psychology

About the position

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD fellowship to be based at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position is linked to the CannaStress project (Deciphering endocannabinoid stress buffering in humans: Mechanistic and clinical investigations) funded by the Research Council of Norway (FRIPRO). The candidate will be part of the AffectiveBrains research group and Dr. Marie Eikemo’s lab (Principal investigator and supervisor).

The employment period can be considered to be up to 4 years given addition of teaching and administrative duties (up to 25 %), depending on the competence of the successful applicant and the needs of the department. 

The research fellow must take part in the Department’s PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. 

Project description

The CannaStress project is dedicated to understanding how endogenous cannabinoids are involved in stress responses and recovery in humans. To this end we combine data from psychopharmacological experiments in healthy participants and real-world clinical data from surgery patients for a more in-depth understanding of stress and resilience mechanisms. The project is an interdisciplinary effort bridging psychology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and pharmacology.

We collect a range of outcomes to understand vulnerability and resilience factors including questionnaires that measure perceived stress and coping, pain, reward sensitivity, quality of life, social connections and mental health. In addition, we collect physiological and biological outcomes and registry data (prescriptions and sick leaves). 

Duties 

The PhD candidate will be involved in analyzing both experimental and clinical data, focusing on:

• Stress responses and recovery patterns
• Endocannabinoid measurements in blood, hair, and cerebrospinal fluid
•  Interactions between the endocannabinoid system, cortisol, and opioids
•  Sex differences in stress responses and endocannabinoid function
•  Long-term health outcomes following stress exposure

The PhD candidate will also be involved in data collection, planning studies and manuscript preparation working closely with researchers and clinicians across different fields related to psychology, medicine and neuroscience through an active collaboration with researchers and clinicians at Oslo University Hospital, Kongsberg Hospital and University of Calgary. The teams involved are composed of neuroscientists, research- and clinical psychologists, anesthetists, pain physicians, nurses and biomedical professionals. The clinical work package in CannaStress is part of the NorOp project. 

All major project activities will be conducted in English; Norwegian and English are the main languages in use at the Department.

Contact Dr Eikemo for a description of the project: marie.eikemo@psykologi.uio.no 

Responsibilities

• Analyze complex datasets from experimental and clinical studies including longitudinal (correlated) data
• Manuscript preparation and publication
• Participate in regular project meetings and scientific conferences
• Contribute to organizing lab meetings, events and data collection
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including psychologists, neuroscientists, and medical professionals

Qualifications

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree in psychology, neuroscience, biostatistics, or a related field (before starting the PhD). 
• The candidate must be qualified for admission to the ph.d. program Strong background in quantitative methods (reflected in courses and/or research experience)
• Proficiency in R, Python, or similar programming languages (or strong skills in another statistics software)
• Knowledge about the endocannabinoid system, stress responses, post-operative outcomes or psychopharmacology
• Excellent communication and collaborative skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

Additional preferred expertise and experience

• Experience with longitudinal data analysis and advanced statistical methods (e.g. linear and generalized mixed-effects models, growth curve analysis and structural equation modeling).
• Familiarity with the opioid and endocannabinoid system and topics related to stress and stress resilience/coping. 
• Experience/expertise with Rmarkdown or similar tools
• Previous experience with analysis of stress related measures is an advantage (e.g., subjective, psychophysiological or endocrine)
• Previous experience with coordinating research projects is an advantage
• Previous experience with open science practices is an advantage
• Experience with using Shiny or similar data visualization and exploration tools
• Experience with data management and/or version control 

Personal skills

• Strong motivation for research and follow through skills 
• Excellent problem-solving and organizational skills
• Conscientious and rigorous approach to the research process and integrity over fast publications 
• Ability and motivation to share expertise with other members of the research group
• Appreciation for transparent research methods and open science practices
• Positive to partake in cross-disciplinary national and international collaborations
• Willingness to travel for conferences and collect data if needed

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

Why should you choose us?

In the AffectiveBrains research group and Dr. Marie Eikemo’s lab we do interdisciplinary team-based science. We strongly value contributing to the lab spirit, working environment, helping organize scientific and social activities. We have weekly lab meetings and lab lunches and typically involve many students in our projects. We offer flexibility in travelling and working from home but expect most fulltime team members to spend three or more days a week in the office (on average). 

• A stimulating research environment with good development and career opportunities relevant to academia and clinical contexts
• Access to state-of-the-art research facilities at the University of Oslo and collaborating institutions
• Opportunities for international collaboration and travel through a strong network of researchers
• Training in advanced statistical methods and psychopharmacology
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• 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 Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 to 610 700 per annum, 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. 

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

Application

Your application should include:

• A motivation letter outlining your interest in the project topics, experience with statistical analysis and motivation to join the AffectiveBrains research group (1-2 pages).
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities)
• Copies of educational certificates (including classes attended and grades obtained).
• Master's thesis 
• Relevant publications or preprints (if available)
• Links to openly shared analysis scripts e.g. in github or copy of a html rendered from a markdown (if available)
• Names and contact details of 3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail, and telephone number) and letters of recommendation (if available)

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), Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

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

Apply for the position

Questions about the position

• Marie Eikemo (Researcher), Marie.eikemo@psykologi.uio.no
• Dordi Stavik (for questions regarding Jobbnorge) - HR Officer, dordi.stavik@psykologi.uio.no