Postdoctoral researcher in psychology

The School of criminology, law, psychology and social work is seeking a postdoctoral researcher in [psychology with a focus on chronic pain and machine learning] for a fixed-term appointment.

Background
Örebro university is seeking a postdoctoral researcher within a research project using large-scale national registry data and machine learning (both supervised and unsupervised learning) for the empirical classification of individuals with chronic pain and the prediction of treatment outcome following multimodal pain services in Sweden. The data consists of several connected national databases in Sweden with a high degree of coverage and more than 60.000 individuals with chronic pain. As a postdoctoral researcher, you would join an interdisciplinary research environment comprised of statisticians, psychologists and physicians connected to the project. The project is directed by Professor of Psychology Hugo Hesser.

Duties and responsibilities
The appointment as a postdoctoral researcher is intended to enable persons who have recently been awarded their doctoral degree, to consolidate and develop primarily their research skills. The position is almost entirely research-centered.

The connection between psychological and medical aspects of chronic pain are at the core of the research. The research involves implementing and developing appropriate data analysis algorithms and statistical modelling approaches of medical, behavioural and psychological data from national databases – all with an eye towards improving prediction of pain outcomes, classification and treatments of individuals with chronic pain. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will have the opportunity, in collaboration with other experts involved in the project, to develop and address research questions in the intersection of health psychology, medicine and statistics.

We specifically seek an individual with statistical training and interest in modern statistical methods for prediction and classification (e.g., mixture modeling). You should have prior experience working with large data sets and be skilled in applied data modeling, but the position does not require a PhD in statistics/mathematics.

You are interested in (at least) one of the following topics (but preferably both):


• Predictive modeling/machine learning / artificial intelligence
• Chronic pain/health psychology

Eligibility
Eligible for the appointment as postdoctoral researcher are applicants holding a doctoral degree in psychology/statistics/mathematics/computer science or in related subject areas. The doctoral degree should have been awarded no more than three years prior to the application deadline. Candidates who have obtained their doctoral degree prior to that may however also be considered if special grounds exist (leave of absence due to illness, parental leave, clinical duties, an elected position in a trade union, or other similar circumstances).

Assessment criteria
General assessment criteria include good interpersonal skills and an ability to cooperate as well as the ability and suitability otherwise required to perform the duties well. Particular importance shall be attached to the qualities enabling the candidate to contribute to the future development of both research and education, within the subject area. A demonstrated ability and desire to pursue an academic career is also of importance.

The candidate has a firm background in statistics and predictive modelling. Key competences include programming in R (or in related languages/statistical software) and prior experience working with medical, psychological and behavioural data using advanced statistics (e.g., mixture modelling). International publications in fields that are important to the research project, such as chronic pain and health psychology, are considered especially significant.

We place great emphasis on personal characteristics such as the ability to work independently and good communication skills, both written and spoken. Fluency in the English language is highly recommended. You have the ability to formulate your own scientific questions and have experience in publishing scientific articles. We expect you to have a good ability to collaborate with others and a willingness to work interdisciplinary.

Information
The position is for a fixed term of two years and starts in autumn 2020.The salary depends on the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience.

For more information, please contact Professor Hugo Hesser e-mail: hugo.hesser@oru.se

Örebro University actively pursues an equal work environment and values the qualities that diversity adds to our operations.

Application
The application is made online. Click the button “Apply” to begin the application procedure.

For the application to be complete, the following electronic documents must be included:


• A covering letter, outlining how you believe you can contribute to the continued development of Örebro University
• CV with a relevant description of your overall qualifications and experience
• An account of research/artistic qualifications
• Copies of relevant course/degree certificates and references verifying eligibility and criteria met
• Scientific publications for consideration (maximum of 10) (Not only publication list.)

Only documents written in Swedish, English, Norwegian or Danish can be reviewed.

The application deadline is 31 August 2020. We look forward to receiving your application!

We decline any contact with advertisers or recruitment agencies in the recruitment process.

As directed by the National Archives of Sweden (Riksarkivet), Örebro University is required to deposit one file copy of the application documents, excluding publications, for a period of two years after the appointment decision has gained legal force.