Job description

Two postdoctoral research fellow positions are available at the Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology (OCBE), Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo. The Institute of Basic Medical Sciences consists of departments and units that pursue research and education within basic medical science. The institute has approximately 320 employees and is located in the Domus Medica.

This is an opportunity to join one of Europe's most active biostatistics groups at an exciting time. Currently, OCBE includes nine tenured professors and associate professors, twelve researchers, and several post-doctoral fellows and PhD students, making up a group of about 50. OCBE is internationally recognized, with interests spanning a broad range of areas (including time-to-event models, data integration, causal inference, statistical genomics, Bayesian inference, informative missingness and measurement error models, epidemiological studies of lifestyle and chronic diseases, stochastic models for infectious diseases, high dimensional data and models) and numerous collaborations with leading bio-medical research groups nationally and internationally.

The announced positions are funded by the Norwegian Research Council through the FRIPRO project "CARDAMOM".

A 3-year position is targeted towards development and application of novel inference methods for intractable simulator-based statistical models within the Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and synthetic likelihood frameworks. A particular focus is on models for high-dimensional dynamical systems.

A 4-year position is targeted towards bacterial population genomics and modeling of transmission to allow for causal inference from longitudinal microbiome data.

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

Qualification requirements

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

Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.

Candidates for the 3-year position must have a PhD in statistics or computer science equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree. They should also have documented high level research experience about ABC inference methods and algorithm development for likelihood-free inference, in particular about methods for Bayesian optimization and/or Bayesian experimental design.

Candidates for the 4-year position must have a PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics or a similar field, equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree. They should also have documented high level research experience about developing computational methods for bacterial population genomics, in particular about methods for pangenome estimation, population structure and transmission analysis.

Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Appointment is dependent on the public defence of the doctoral thesis being approved.

We offer

• salary NOK 526 000– 586 500 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
• a professionally stimulating working environment
• attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

• A one-page text describing current research interests and potential contributions to the planned project.
• CV summarizing education, positions held, details of academic work, pedagogical and administrative experience and other qualifying activities
• List of publications
• Copies of educational certificates and transcripts of records
• Names and contact details of 2-3 referees stating relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number

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.

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

• Professor Jukka Corander, e-mail: jukka.corander@medisin.uio.no

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