Job description

Position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow available at Department of Informatics (IFI), Center for Bioinformatics (CEB). The postdoc position will be associated with the Strategic Research Initiative PharmaTox – a transdisciplinary initiative bringing together strong research environments in computer science, statistics, pharmacology, epigenetics and epidemiology. The overall focus of PharmaTox is methodology development and investigations related to long-term effects of medications on human neurodevelopment.

The fellowship period is 3 years. Candidates may be offered one additional year by the Department of Informatics; the 4 years position then entails a compulsory work load of 25% that consists of teaching and/or supervision duties.

Starting date no later than 01.10.2019.

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

More about the position

Whereas the majority of women take at least one medication during pregnancy, there is almost no evidence-based information on the long-term effects on child neurodevelopment. Such effects may be mediated by a variety of mechanisms, involving genetic susceptibility, epigenetic fetal programming, pharmaco-epigenetic effects and gene-environment interactions. The rapidly improved cost-efficiency of DNA sequencing technology has just recently made it feasible to investigate such effects by combining epidemiological information in large birth cohort registries with corresponding genetic and epigenetic data.

The successful candidate will exploit the broad expertise available in the PharmaTox environment to develop groundbreaking methodology for the analysis of genetic and epigenetic data in epidemiological settings. Depending on the background of the candidate, the focus can be more in the direction of development of statistical/algorithmic methodology for causal analysis of high-dimensional -omics data and/or the development of software frameworks facilitating robust, transparent and reproducible analysis in such epidemiology-omics scenarios. An overarching aim is to develop a new comprehensive system to detect patterns of drug neurotoxicity in pregnancy, including leveraging machine learning techniques to make personalized predictions.

A further goal is to develop a holistic FAIR framework (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) for sensitive data within PharmaTox, including a sophisticated data simulation scheme that allows generation of non-sensitive data with properties similar to the real data.

Postdoctoral fellows who are appointed for a period of four years are expected to acquire basic pedagogical competency in the course of their fellowship period within the duty component of 25 %.

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in computer science, bioinformatics, statistics or related field. Doctoral thesis must have been submitted for evaluation by the closing date (7.April 2019). The thesis must have been approved and defended before appointment.
• The applicant must show a strong competence in either of two directions (ideally both):
  • Advanced statistical modeling and methodology development for complex data, documented through having taken advanced statistics courses and by publications involving statistical modeling or methodology development with a prominent computational component
  • Advanced software development, documented through having taken advanced software development courses, by publications involving advanced software development and/or by attaching/linking to a sophisticated codebase for which the candidate has been a driving developer.
• Experience with causal analysis or with epidemiological, genomic or epigenomic analyses of eukaryotes will be appreciated.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
• Solid research track

Personal skills

• Ambitious in terms of breaking grounds scientifically and developing a strong research profile
• Excellent collaboration skills
• Strong motivation for transdisciplinary science

We offer

• salary NOK 515 200 – 597 400 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352)
• a professionally stimulating working environment
• vibrant international academic environment
• postdoctoral development programmes
• 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

• Cover letter, including a statement of motivation, a very brief summary of scientific work, and an outline of research interests and research propositions related to the above described project
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• List of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone 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 candidate’s 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.

Short-listed applicants will be called for an interview.

Formal regulations

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

According to the Norwegian Freedom and 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

• Asscoiated Professor Geir Kjetil Sandve, phone: +47-22840861, e-mail: geirksa@ifi.uio.no or
• Professor Hedvig Nordeng, phone: +47-22856604, e-mail: h.m.e.nordeng@farmasi.uio.no

For technical questions regarding the recruitment system, please contact HR Adviser Torunn Standal Guttormsen, phone:+47 22854272, e-mail:t.s.guttormsen@mn.uio.no

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