Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Section for Cognitive and Clinical neuroscience

Job description

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD fellowship to be based at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position is linked to the project "Parsing the developmental and genetic architecture of risk and resilience in the adolescent brain", which is funded by a grant from the Research Council of Norway.

The fellowship is for a period of 3 years. A 4th year can be considered with the addition of 25 % teaching duties, depending on the competence of the applicant and the needs of the Department. The research fellow must take part in the Department’s PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period.

The project aims to increase our understanding of individual differences in the susceptibility for mental disorders during childhood and adolescence. We will combine brain imaging and genetic data from existing resources with a novel data collection, including brain and body MRI, cognitive tests, clinical phenotyping, and blood samples. In collaboration with research assistants and other members of the team, the fellow will be directly involved in data collection, including study coordination and handling of participants.

The candidate will be affiliated with the NORMENT Multimodal Imaging group (PI: Lars T. Westlye, https://www.med.uio.no/norment/english/research/groups/multimodal-imaging).

NORMENT (http://www.norment.no) is a Norwegian Centre of Excellence aiming to disentangle the neurobiological, genetic, psychological and environmental factors contributing to the development of mental illness.

Qualifications and personal skills

• The candidate must be qualified for admission to the ph.d. program at the Faculty of Social Science, University of Oslo (https://www.uio.no/english/research/phd/).
• Applicants must have submitted their master’s or equivalent thesis in relevant fields such as psychology, medicine, cognitive neuroscience or related. The diploma must be forwarded as soon as it is received.
• Previous experience with study coordination, data collection and handling of participants is an advantage.
• Previous experience with statistical analysis and programming (R, Matlab, python or similar) is an advantage. Interest in acquiring the necessary computational skills is required.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in Norwegian and/or English is required.
• Excellent communication and collaborative skills (team player) is required.
• Some work during evenings and weekends is expected.

We offer

• Salary NOK 479 600 - 523 200 per year, - depending on experience and qualifications.
• An ambitious and exciting research environment with a strong multidisciplinary profile and excellent opportunities for academic development.
• Attractive welfare benefits including excellent benefits for families (kindergarten, paid paternal/maternal leave etc) and a generous pension agreement. In addition, Oslo offers a family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities in its immediate surroundings.
• Starting date: Negotiable

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter (brief summary of motivation and research interests, career plan).
• CV (summarizing education, positions, relevant experience).
• Relevant educational certificates and transcripts of records
• List of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)
• List of publications, if any (including preprints with valid links). Publications should not be submitted along with the initial application.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on academic qualifications, the candidate’s motivation, and personal suitability. Interviews will be performed as part of the selection process

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Contact information

• Professor Lars T. Westlye, e-mail: l.t.westlye@psykologi.uio.no

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