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Postdoctoral research fellow LCBC

Deadline: 10.02.2021

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department of Psychology is one of seven units of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and has 75 permanent and 70 temporary members of scientific staff. Degrees are offered at bachelor and master level, plus a clinical training programme, and the PhD programme has 140 students.

Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Center for Lifespan changes in Brain and Cognition

The position

A position as Postdoctoral Fellow is available at the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. This position will fit a highly talented candidate with interests in inflammatory effects in relation to brain health.

The research center

The goal of LCBC is to understand brain and cognitive changes and how to optimize them through the entire lifespan. LCBC is an active multi-disciplinary research center, with a staff of about 30 full time positions, including eight faculty professors/researchers, several PostDocs and PhD candidates, several programmers/engineers and full-time RAs, extensive supporting personnel and several affiliated international researchers. LCBC has excellent research infrastructure, including access to a 3T Siemens Prisma, PET and EEG, and neuropsychological and somatic test facilities. English is the language of the center.

LCBC coordinates a large H2020 EU-project and has obtained four grants from the European Research Council (ERC). Further funding comes from the Norwegian Research Council, the National Health Association, the Thon foundation and the University of Oslo. The group was in 2015 appointed status as “world leading” as one of five at the University of Oslo, with special funding. More information can be found on www.oslobrains.no

More about the position

This position will be funded by a project newly granted by the Research Council of Norway: “Exploring the Causal Effects of Immune Responses to Cognitive and Mental Health – Integrating Large-scale Genomics with Longitudinal Studies”. LCBC has collected a large amount of multimodal data on about 1200 subjects. In addition to extensive longitudinal cognitive and neuroimaging measures, this includes DNA variation, DNA methylation and blood cytokine levels. The goal of this position is to study the role of the immune response in brain changes and cognitive health across the lifespan. The candidate will combine our deeply phenotyped data with large-scale public human genetic data, such as UK Biobank, ABCD, and GWAS results, and work to advance knowledge about inflammatory pathways, including the effects of circulating cytokines on changes in brain structure and function across life. The successful applicant will join the genetic analysis group of LCBC and work on applying the state-of-the art methodologies in the field on our curated dataset of brain and neuropsychological parameters, such as sleep, memory and learning.

It is expected the candidate has extensive experience in longitudinal statistical modelling of brain and cognitive data and neuroimaging methods in general. Experience in genetic analysis, such as post-GWAS, is also desired but not essential, as training will be provided.

LCBC has a well-functioning data management infrastructure, thus the successful applicant can expect to be able to focus on the analysis and publication part of the scientific process.The successful applicant will have to document a strong background in neuroimaging and longitudinal statistical modelling, and will be assisted by a highly competent team of geneticists, engineers, statisticians, and psychologists in the center. In addition, the candidate is welcome and expected to take part in LCBC’s extensive network of international collaborations, for example via the Lifebrain consortium (https://www.lifebrain.uio.no/).

The position of postdoctoral fellow is fulltime for a period of 3 years, with 2 years funded by the Norwegian Research Council and 1 year via the Lifebrain H2020 project.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines.

Qualification requirements

  • A PhD degree or similar in neuroscience, psychology, human genetics or neurology. The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation prior to the closing date, and appointment is dependent on the doctoral thesis being approved
  • Extensive experience with neuroimaging analysis (e.g. FreeSurfer and FSL)
  • Strong programming skills (e.g. R, unix scripting, Matlab or Python)
  • Excellent English communication skills, orally and in writing

The following will be considered as advantages:

  • Documented skills in statistical analysis, ideally longitudinal.
  • Strong record of scientific publication

In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed upon the quality of the candidate's academic qualifications. Interviews with selected candidates may be arranged where the applicant's personal prerequisites and cooperative skills will be emphasized.

We offer

  • Salary grade 555 800 - 643 000 per year depending on qualifications
  • Professional development in a stimulating academic environment
  • Favorable pension and social welfare benefits 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, 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 Scandinavian or English.

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).

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.

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.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

  • Associate professor Yunpeng Wang: yunpeng.wng@psykologi.uio.no

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