Postdoctoral researcher in Psychiatric Genomics

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, database administrators and administrative personnel, in total approximately some 250 staff. The department is situated in campus Solna. Further information can be found at ki.se/meb



About the KI-PGI

In 2014, the Swedish Research Council awarded a “Grant for international recruitment of leading researchers" to Prof Patrick Sullivan to establish the KI-PGI at MEB.

This 10 year award is meant to establish a high quality research programme focused on psychiatric genomics. Psychiatric genomics has achieved unprecedented advances. After a century of uncertain progress and debate about the nature of severe psychiatric disorders, we now possess extraordinary new knowledge about the fundamental genetic architectures. A decade ago, there was perhaps one solid finding for schizophrenia, and there are now over 130 loci that meet consensus criteria for significance and replication. Funded work in progress is likely to increase this number substantially.

The overall goal of the KI-PGI is to systematically evaluate the epidemiological, molecular, and cellular effects of these loci. The research is highly trans-disciplinary with deep collaborations within the KI, Sweden, Europe, the US, and Australia. Multiple large data collection efforts have been based at MEB, and new efforts are in progress.

Area of responsibilities/description of the work

The overarching goals of the KI-PGI are: (a) on a population scale, how do genes and environment act and interact to modify risk for the cardinal psychiatric disorders? (b) By what molecular and cellular mechanisms do these genes act?

We have data from large case-control studies of schizophrenia, and all subjects have been comprehensively evaluated with genome-wide association arrays, copy number variation, exome array, and whole exome sequencing. Larger studies are in progress. We are extremely interested in integrating genomic findings in the context of Swedish population epidemiological studies.

For more information, please see PubMed IDs 23974872 24776740 24463508 25056061 22777127.

Qualifications

A person is eligible for a position as Postdocroral Researcher if he or she has obtained a PhD no more than seven years before the date of employment as postdoc. Applicants should have a PhD degree in epidemiology or biostatistics with additional training and experience in genetic and/or molecular epidemiology. The applicant should have substantial experience in high-level analysis of multiple types of modern genomic datasets (e.g., genome-wide association, exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing, RNA-sequencing). Modern genomics also requires proven skills in programming (e.g., R and PERL), use of standard software packages (e.g., PLINK, IMPUTE/MACH, GATK), flexibly manipulating large datasets, and bioinformatic integration, and pathway analysis. 

An in-depth knowledge of complex trait genomics is very important. Specific knowledge of psychiatric genomics (particularly for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, or major depressive disorder) is similarly crucial. Knowledge of the principles of GxE analysis is important.

The appointment will be for 2 years, with a possible extension after evaluation.

Personal characteristics

The applicant should be highly collegial, experienced in working in “team science” contexts, possess exceptional organizational skills, know how to successfully multitask, and should be able to describe past examples of having developed structured approaches to solving unanticipated and complex problems. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required, along with ample experience with writing and publishing research articles in English.


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 through the MyNetwork recruitment system.

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