Postdoctoral research fellow in Gerontological Genetics / Healthy Aging

Karolinska Institutet


The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics is among the largest departments of epidemiology in Europe with special focus on increasing our knowledge of the aetiology for different diseases. Our department consists of researchers, doctoral students, biostatisticians, data collectors and database administrators as well as administrative personnel, in total approximately some 250 staff. The department is situated in campus Solna. Further information can be found at www.ki.se/meb

Internationally, the Nordic countries have been known as a "goldmine" for epidemiological research, particularly due to our systems of individually unique personal registration numbers, access to national demographic and health registries, and health care, predominantly funded by public sources, of high and uniform quality. Karolinska Institutet's vision is to further develop and integrate the unique resources for epidemiological research in Sweden such as biobanks, longitudinal cohorts, and newly available data sources such as computerized patient systems, the multigeneration- and prescription registries and quality of care registries. The Strategic Research Program in Epidemiology has three themes of research: i) Human Interactions with Microorganisms; ii) Molecular, Genetic and Clinical Epidemiology; and iii) Lifespan approach to Health and Disease.

Area of responsibility / description of work

Gerontological genetics and the study of Healthy Aging deals with the application of gerontological, epidemiological, and genetic methods to the study of individual differences in aging. The focus of this position is on an integrated research program in health development in late life that uses a lifespan approach to address a number of questions about how environment, lifestyle and genes act, in synergy, to produce individual patterns of outcomes. The research will be on the influence of early and midlife environments and biomarkers on the aging process, how potential buffering effects may influence late life outcomes.

The proposed work will include collaboration with gerontologists, psychologists, molecular epidemiologists, and biostatisticians working within a Swedish Research Council Framework Project in Aging and Health and in collaboration with colleagues in the USA. Data sources include rich longitudinal information from four Swedish twin cohort studies of aging, biomarkers and genotypes from these cohorts, and information from national health registries. More specifically, the projects involve:

1)     Identifying patterns of multiple impairments and multimorbidity and subsequently, the buffering effects of lifestyle and environmental factors on these longitudinal trajectories late in life and

2)     Understanding these transitions by studying genetics, epigenetics, and gene-environment interactions.

The post-doctoral fellow will be involved in all parts of the projects, ranging from generating own research ideas, supervision of students to day-to-day data management, statistical analysis and preparing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Qualifications

Applicants should have a PhD degree or equivalent in gerontology, psychology, lifespan development, epidemiology, behavior genetics or genetic epidemiology. We are looking for a person with a documented experience in analyzing longitudinal data, preferably with a focus on aging related outcomes. Experience with latent growth modeling and/or latent class analysis is desirable. The position also requires both initiative in pursuing independent projects, as well as competence and experience in collaboration with a larger team.

 
Entry requirements
A person is eligible for a position as postdoctoral research fellow if he or she has obtained a PhD no more than seven years before the last date of employment as postdoc.

Application process
An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

- A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
- A complete list of publications
- A summary of current work (no more than one page)
- Verifications for crediting of illness, military service, work for labour unions or student organisations, parental leave or similar circumstances
- Verification from the thesis defence committee or the equivalent (only if the thesis defence is scheduled within three months after the application deadline)
The application is to be submitted on the NetRecruiter system.


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