Are you interested in joining our team as a researcher to study mental health among young people following the Covid-19 pandemic?

We have a 1-year position available as Researcher (SKO 1109) at the University of Oslo, affiliated with the Centre for Precision Psychiatry at the Institute of Clinical Medicine.

The Centre runs a series of multidisciplinary studies involving hospital departments in Oslo and several research groups at the University of Oslo. The main goal is to develop tools and knowledge for precision medicine in psychiatry, building on advanced statistical methods for analysis of large-scale human genetic and neuroimaging data, to better understand how biological, psychological, and environmental factors contribute to severe mental and neuropsychiatric disorders, their treatment, and outcomes. The Centre has access to a large database of biomarkers, clinical, and cognitive variables, genotyping and sequencing data, and MRI brain imaging data on patients with neuropsychiatric and severe mental disorders. In addition, we work closely with national population cohorts (MoBa, HUSK, HUNT, TromsøStudy), and collaborate with Nordic partners to leverage the registry and biobank information across countries, as well as large international consortia, including the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) and the ENIGMA consortium.

Our research environment is international, friendly and inspiring, and the position represents a unique opportunity for career development for a hard-working candidate.

For more information about our research group, please see our webpage: https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/english/research/groups/precision-psychiatry/ 

More about the position

We invite applications for a 1-year Research position for an ambitious researcher with a relevant background to be part of the “CovidmentYOUNG” project. The project is part of the large COVIDMENT consortium consisting of the Nordic countries, Estonia and Scotland (https://covidment.is/). The leader of the CovidmentYOUNG project is located at the PsychGen Centre at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), providing an extended collaborative environment for the researcher. The aim of the project is to shed light on mental health, risk and resilience factors among young people during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The project will focus on mental health consequences (e.g., on eating problems and disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, depression, anxiety and wellbeing) in the general population and in various groups of affiliated young people and their families.
 

More information about the project: https://www.nordforsk.org/projects/post-pandemic-mental-health-risk-and-resilience-young-people-covidmentyoung 

Task description

• In collaboration with the CovidmentYOUNG team, the researcher will
• Be involved in project design and analysis plan for preregistration
• Quality control of data and run statistical analyses
• Prepare manuscript(s) for publication in scientific journals
• Present findings at relevant research conferences and in popular media
• Collaborate with other team members at the Centre, NIPH, and COVIDMENT partners
• Ensure that all work adheres to the research governance, data protection and confidentiality protocols

Qualification requirements

• Doctoral degree (PhD) in psychology, neuroscience, medicine, biostatistics or similar
• Experience with handling of large-scale human genotype and registry data (quality control and analysis)
• Skills in programming and scripting languages (Python/R/Matlab)
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and a Scandinavian language
• High quality of previous scientific work
• Expertise and experience in clinical psychiatry is an advantage
• Experience with research on Covid-19 is an advantage

Personal skills

• Structured and organized with high working capacity and productivity
• Excellent teamwork skills, including multidisciplinary team of researchers
• Strong motivation and genuine interest in research in casual factors in mental illness
• Track record of working independently and taking responsibility for project completion
• Ambitious and highly motivated for pursuing a career in science

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We offer

• A friendly, professional and stimulating working environment with highly qualified national and international collaborators
• Access to unique data sources such as the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and national registries
• 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
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Researcher, position code 1109 in salary range NOK from 595 000 to 675 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

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.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

Application

Your application should include:

• Cover letter statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only)
• A complete list of publications and academic works
• Contact information for 2-3 references.

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Rules for the use of research posts SKO 1108, 1109, 1110 and 1183 at UiO.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.