Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Precision Medicine and Statistical Data Science

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Precision Medicine and Statistical Data Science

At the Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, a full-time 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is available within the Research Council of Norway-funded ResiliDem project. The position offers an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated researcher to work at the interface of statistical data analysis, population-based research, and precision medicine in neurodegenerative disorders. The ResiliDem project aims to identify resilience and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by integrating large-scale human genetic data with phenotypic, environmental, lifestyle, and registry-based information. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to data-driven and statistically rigorous analyses of complex, longitudinal human datasets, with a particular focus on understanding disease mechanisms, heterogeneity, and trajectories across the life course.

The Centre for Precision Psychiatry has access to a rich and unique data infrastructure, including large databases of biomarkers, clinical and cognitive variables, genotyping and sequencing data, and MRI brain imaging data from patients with neuropsychiatric and severe mental disorders. In addition, the Centre actively collaborates with major international consortia, including the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC), the ENIGMA consortium, and the European Alzheimer’s Disease DNA BioBank (EADB). The research environment further benefits from access to data from a broad range of national and international studies, including Norwegian population cohorts (e.g., DemGene), the UK Biobank, and the ABCD and ADNI studies

The position is primarily focused on advanced statistical analysis and data integration. While machine learning and computational approaches may be applied where appropriate, the core emphasis of the role is on population-level data analysis, interpretation, and scientific insight generation using large-scale real-world data.

The successful candidate will work closely with an interdisciplinary research environment including statisticians, geneticists, clinicians, and data scientists, and will conduct research using state-of-the‑art secure infrastructure, including the TSD platform at the University of Oslo.
This postdoctoral fellowship is intended to strengthen the candidate’s scientific independence and publication record, and to provide strong qualifications for future academic or research leadership positions within precision medicine, population health, and data-driven neuroscience

Main responsibilities

• Perform advanced statistical analyses of large-scale human genetic, phenotypic, environmental, and registry‑based data to investigate resilience and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
• Develop, adapt, and implement statistical and analytical methods tailored to complex population-based and longitudinal data, including method development driven by specific scientific questions within the ResiliDem project.
• Conduct data preparation, quality assessment, and harmonization of complex datasets from population cohorts, biobanks, and health registries, including national and Nordic resources (e.g., HUNT, HUSK, DemGene) as well as international datasets.
• Integrate genetic data with phenotypic, lifestyle, environmental, and longitudinal registry information to characterize disease heterogeneity, trajectories, and modifiers across the life course.
• Design and apply robust analytical strategies for population-based and longitudinal studies, including model development, sensitivity analyses, and careful interpretation of results.
• Collaborate closely with clinicians, statisticians, geneticists, and other researchers to translate analytical findings into biological and clinical insight relevant for precision medicine.
• Contribute to the scientific development of the ResiliDem project, including study design, analytical strategy development, and dissemination of results through high-quality peer-reviewed publications.

Qualifications

Required

• A PhD in statistics, mathematics, informatics, genetics, medicine, psychology, or an equivalent field.
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or MATLAB, with emphasis on data analysis and method development.
• Solid experience in statistical analysis and data processing using relevant statistical software.
• Experience with large-scale human datasets, including genomics, omics, and/or brain imaging data
• Experience with tools and pipelines for image analysis (e.g., FreeSurfer, FSL) and genetic data analysis (e.g., PLINK)
• Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.
  

Preferred

• Research experience related to Alzheimer’s disea