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PhD Research Fellow in pharmacoepidemiology

Deadline: 28.02.2023

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 28 000 students and 7000 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.

Job description

Position as PhD Research Fellow in pharmacoepidemiology available at the Department of Pharmacy.

The fellowship period is 4 years with a workload of 25 % that may consist of teaching, supervision duties, and/or research assistance. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

Starting date no later than October 1, 2023.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

More about the position

The position is part of the PharmacoEpidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo. The research group includes 4 full time researchers, 4 adjunct positions and over 10 PhD-students and post doc’s making up a group of about 20 individuals. The PharmaSafe Research group at UiO is international-ly recognized, with interests spanning a broad range of areas including pharmacoepidemiology, medication safety and clinical pharmacy, with special focus on complex patient groups. The research group is multidisciplinary and has expertise within pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics, genetics, psychiatry, pharmacotherapy and clinical pharmacy.

The PhD Research Fellow will be involved in a research project examining the contribution of medication exposure in the early life-course, that is from preconception in prospective fathers and mothers, through pregnancy and infancy, on long-term cardio-metabolic dysfunction in children and youth. The medication groups investigated are psychotropics and corticosteroids. The study is based on epidemiological data from various secondary data sources, e.g. the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry and the Norwegian Patient Registry, as well as on one of the largest birth cohorts worldwide, the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The project includes genetic information in mother-child-father trios via the MoBagenetics infrastructure. The project is highly interdisciplinary, and uses advanced statistics and causal inference methods.

The research challenges the PhD Research Fellow will be addressing, relate to the development on a novel method for modelling longitudinal medication exposure in mother-father-child trios, its integration with causal inference methods, and the study of complex cardio-metabolic outcomes as the children grow older.

The project is conducted in close collaboration with researchers in Denmark and Italy, and this offers the opportunity for a research stay abroad upon receipt of dedicated funding to the PhD Research Fellow.

The position is funded by Ministry of Education and Research related to the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences’ sustainable development initiative at the University of Oslo.

The project will positively contribute to meeting multiple UN Sustainable Goals by (i) promoting health and well-being for all at all ages, by reducing the mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease and diabetes in future generations; (ii) enhancing gender equality, by focusing on drug research in pregnant women; (iii) preventing the onset of cardio-metabolic disease in future generations, whose risk is attributable to early-life drug exposure.

For more information about The PharmaSafe research group

Qualification requirements

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.

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in pharmacy, epidemiology, biostatistics, medicine or related fields.
  • Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corre-sponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system and in the academic fields mentioned above may be accepted.
  • Teatching will be a part of the workload and the candidate must be able to teach in a Scandinavian language

Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2023 to complete the final exam.

Grade requirements:

The norm is as follows:

  • the average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian ed-ucational system
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and in a Scandi-navian language.
  • English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD programme must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

Personal skills

  • Resourceful, structured, and results-oriented
  • Ability to work independently as well as in multidisciplinary teams
  • Ability to give and receive constructive scientific criticism
  • Openness to and enthusiasm towards teaching to pharmacy students

The following qualifications will count in the assessment of the applicants:

  • High motivation for a doctoral project and research, documented primarily via original publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals
  • Research experience within pharmacoepidemiology or epidemiology, (bio)statistics and analysis of large-scale data sets
  • Existing knowledge and experience with statistical software and compu-tational skills (e.g., Stata, R Studio)
  • Experience with teaching could be an advantage

We offer

  • Salary NOK 501 200 – 544 400 per annum depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017)
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
  • Vibrant international academic environment
  • Career development programmes
  • Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for cul-ture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

  • Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
  • CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific pub-lications)
  • Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma, transcripts of records and
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candi-date, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job”). Foreign applicants are ad-vised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Interviews with the best qualified candiates will be arranged.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

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.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

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

For further information please contact: Dr Angela Lupattelli, phone: +47 22 84 55 49, e-mail: angela.lupattelli@farmasi.uio.no

For questions regarding Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Torunn Standal Guttormsen, e-mail: t.s.guttormsen@mn.uio.no-

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