Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research Center

Job description

One Postdoctoral fellowship is available at the PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The Postdoctoral fellow will be working in the research group TRACE focusing on Early Life Stress and Adolescent Mental Health.

Stress during early life can impact the developing brain and increase vulnerability to mood disorders later in life. The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of how exposure to various adverse experiences during early life may impact adolescent mental health, with a particular focus on sex differences. The postdoctoral candidate will be responsible for harmonizing measures of Early Life Stress across multiple cohorts and examine genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in relation to adolescent mental health. 

This project will use data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child cohort study (MoBa), advanced genetically informative longitudinal methods, combined with diagnoses from national registries. MoBa is ongoing and administered by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and following 114,000 pregnancies recruited between 1998 and 2008. Currently, twelve waves of questionnaires have been collected in MoBa from mothers and fathers have participated twice. In addition, adolescents have provided self-reported data from age 14 and 16. High quality controlled genetic data is available for 240,000 individuals, along with epigenetic data at birth and registry data.

In addition, in collaboration with the PI, the postdoctoral fellow will organize and lead user involvement workshops with the health nurses as well as user organizations. 

The appointment is a fulltime position for a period of three years. An extension of up to one year can be considered with the addition of up to 25% teaching and administrative duties, depending on the competence of the applicant and the needs of the department.

The project is partly financed by the RCN project "Re-thinking the programming hypothesis: Prenatal maternal anxiety/depression, DNA methylation and child psychopathology. A sibling design» and "Research Center for Developmental Processes and Gradients in Mental Health – PROMENTA”. 

For more information about the position see contact information below.

The PROMENTA Research Center

The PROMENTA Research Center carries out interdisciplinary research on mental health and well-being in a holistic perspective - from genetics and biology to local communities and policy. We are concerned with examining determinants of good and poor mental health, understanding how social inequalities emerge, and designing and evaluating effective interventions to promote well-being.

The PROMENTA Research Center carries out interdisciplinary research on mental health and well-being in a holistic perspective - from genetics and biology to local communities and policy. 

We are concerned with examining determinants of good and poor mental health, understanding how social inequalities emerge, and designing and evaluating effective interventions to promote well-being.

The PROMENTA Research Center with more than 50 scientific staff was established based on funding from the Research Council of Norway, and hosted by the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo (UiO). Read more about working at PROMENTA here. 

Qualification requirements

• Fluency in Norwegian and English.
• A PhD degree in psychology, pedagogy, or health sciences. 
• Previous experience with statistical tools (e.g., R) and strong statistical skills (e.g., linear mixed modelling).
• Experience with analyses of stress and cortisol
• Experience in research on families and stress in parents.
• Experience working with longitudinal studies and large complex data.
• High quality publications in relevant fields.
• Excellent communication and collaborative skills.
• Enjoys working within an interdisciplinary team.

Favourable qualifications (not requirements, but give applicants an advantage):

• Experience with teaching (e.g., in health and prevention or development).
• Relevant administrative and organizational skills.
• Experience with using the MoBa data.
• Experience with supervision.
• High ambitions and independency. 
• Emphasis is also given to personal suitability

We offer

• A salary of NOK 604 900 – 692 400 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as Postdoctoral fellow (position code 1352).
• A professionally stimulating work environment and collaboration within the Department of Psychology.
• Opportunities for extensive collaboration with our national and international collaborators. 
• Attractive pension and social welfare benefits.
• Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.

How to apply

The application must include

• A well written motivation letter relating to your interests and qualifications in the position (maximum 1 page).
• Complete CV.
• Copies of academic diplomas and certificates. Diplomas, transcripts and diploma supplements that are not in a Scandinavian language or English must be uploaded in the original language. An English translation of these documents must also be attached.
• Copies of any publications that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee.
• Names and contact details for two references, one of them the supervisor on your PhD thesis.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged. It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

This is a project partly funded by the Research Council of Norway and applicants with a previous postdoctoral fellowship funded by the research council cannot be appointed for this position.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

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.

Contact information

• Project manager Prof. Mona Bekkhus, e-mail: mona.bekkhus@psykologi.uio.no 
• Administrative coordinator at PROMENTA, Maria Vinje Dodson, email: m.v.dodson@psykologi.uio.no

For questions related to the electronic recruitment system: HR officer Mathilde Røed Jørgensen, e-mail: m.r.jorgensen@psykologi.uio.no 

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