The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 26 500 students and 7 200 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.
The Department of Pharmacy has 130 employees. We have an active research and innovation environment based on independent research in pharmaceutical topics. The Department of Pharmacy is responsible for the popular master's degree program in pharmacy and has 350 competent and committed students.Pharmaceutical related research and education forms the base of all activities at the Department of Pharmacy. The science of pharmacy lies in the interface between the natural sciences, pharmaceutical technology, health related topics and social sciences. This interdisciplinarity is reflected both in our study programmes and in our research.
In the planned life science building at the University of Oslo, closer collaboration with health enterprises, local government and the business sector will enhance quality and relevance in research and education of the future labour force. The building will be the heart of the first innovation district in Norway – Oslo Science City. The Department of Pharmacy will move into the new Life Science building in 2026.
About the position
We invite applications for a PhD Research Fellow position in Pharmacoepidemiology, available at the Department of Pharmacy.
Starting date no later than 1 October, 2026.
The position is full-time for a duration of four years and includes 25% career promoting work within UiO:Life Science and convergence environment activities. The candidate will be part of the UiO:Life Science convergence environment “Hormonal contraceptives and mental health: A convergent, interdisciplinary ap-proach [ContraMent]”, funded by UiO:Life Science.
No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.
The workplace will be located at the Department of Pharmacy’s premises on the Blindern campus. In 2026, the Department of Pharmacy will move into the new Life Sciences Building, which will offer modern teaching and research facilities.
About The ContraMent convergence environment
The PhD position is one of four PhD and post doc positions within the ContraMent Convergence environment at the University of Oslo. Convergence environments are interdisciplinary research groups that will aim to solve grand challenges related to health and environment. They are funded by UiO's interdisciplinary strategic area UiO:Life Science www.uio.no/life-science. The ContraMent convergence environment aims to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge on how hormonal contraceptives influences women’s mental health across the reproductive lifespan, in order to improve clinical decision-making and inform public health policy. The convergence environment includes four work packages, spanning pharmacoepidemiology, psychology, neuroscience, and clinical medicine.
About the project
This PhD project will be part of the pharmacoepidemiology work package (WP1), which is led by Professor Hedvig Nordeng at the PharmaSafe research group. The project integrates pharmacology, epidemiology and causal inference to examine how hormonal contraceptives affect mental health across the adult life course—from puberty to menopause. With 40% of women using hormonal contraceptives, we will assess their associations with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorder over time using a longitudinal approach.
By leveraging nationwide registry data, including the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry and the Norwegian Patient Registry, we will track complex drug utilization patterns and mental health trajectories over time. In this project, we will also link the Norwegian Adverse Drug Register to other national health registries, providing an unprecedented, population-level life course perspective on the benefits and risks of hormonal contraceptives.
By integrating big data and advanced methods for modeling exposures, we will establish real-world patterns of hormonal contraceptive use and mental disorders, and identify potential moderating factors such as medication type, age at first use, and sociocultural and geographical context.
As a PhD fellow, you will be working with large-scale longitudinal data, managing data, writing scripts, performing statistical analyses, and writing articles on several pharmacoepidemiological studies that will be the basis of the PhD. The fellow is also expected to collaborate with researchers from other work packages in the convergence environment. The doctorial project will be co-supervised by Prof. Tone K. Omsland, Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, UiO and performed in close collaboration with the ContraMent researchers and international partners.
The compulsory work will include dissemination, development of educational material, organization of environmental activities, support for other researchers, and administrative tasks within ContraMent and the UiOLifeScience initiative at UIO.
Ratio arkitekter
About the PharmaSafe research group
The candidate will become affiliated to the PharmacoEpidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, which is led by professor Hedvig Nordeng, who will be main supervisor. The research group includes 4 full time researchers, 2 adjunct positions, 7 PhD-students and post doc’s as well as several guest researchers and masterstudents making up a group of over 20 individuals. The research group is multidisciplinary and has expertise within pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics, genetics, psychiatry, pharmacotherapy and clinical pharmacy.Read more here: www.mn.uio.no/farmasi/english/research/groups/pharma-safe/index.htm
About the UIOLifeScience initiative
UiO:Life Science is the largest priority area at UiO. UiO:Life Science is an interdisciplinary strategic area that will strengthen quality and interaction in research; recruit, educate and develop talents; and promote innovation in the life sciences related to environment and health. Read more here: www.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/life-science/
What skills are important in this role?
The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.
Required qualifications:
Master’s degree or equivalent in pharmacy, epidemiology, biostatistics, medicine or related fields
Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
Competence in biostatistics and the application of modern epidemiological methods
Experience in analyzing health data
Good computational and coding skills (e.g. STATA, SAS, or R)
Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
Candidates without a master’s degree have until 01.07.2026 to complete the final exam.
Desired qualifications:While not mandatory, these qualifications will be considered an advantage in the assessment
Experience with Nordic linked registry data and or perinatal pharmacoepidemiology
Experience with causal inference methods
High motivation for a research career, documented primarily via original publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals
Language requirement:
Good oral and written communication skills in English
All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.
What are we looking for in you?
Personal skills:
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
Ability to work independently as well as in multidisciplinary teams
Ability to give and receive constructive scientific criticism
Resourceful, structured, and results-oriented
Good communication and collaboration skills
Positive attitude and the ability to handle hectic periods
Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.
Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
Salary in position as PhD Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 - 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund
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 (Norwegian), 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.
How to apply
The application must include:
Cover letter - describing your motivation for applying for the position, summarizing previous research experience, research interests and how own qualifications match the announced position, max. 2 pages
CV with complete overview of education, work experience, and other qualifying activity.
Copy of master’s thesis and potentially other scientific work (not more than a total of 3 items)
Transcripts of records, copies of the original Bachelor’s and Master’s degree diploma (see below)
Documentation of English proficiency if applicable
Publication list, including master thesis and potentially other work, including preprints and scientific talks and posters
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 this job".Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.
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 can't, you will hear from us.
