Postdoctoral Fellow

About the position

A 3-year Postdoctoral Fellow position in developmental neuroscience is available at the PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. 

The candidate will be part of the UiO:Life Science convergence environment “Hormonal contraceptives and mental health: A convergent, interdisciplinary approach [ContraMent]”, funded by UiO:Life Science.

The position is full-time for a duration of three years. There is a 10% component of the position which is devoted to career promoting work related to supporting UiO:Life Science and convergence environment activities and teaching and administrative duties at the department.

About the ContraMent convergence environment and the project

Convergence environments are interdisciplinary research groups that aim to solve grand challenges related to health and environment. They are funded by UiO's interdisciplinary strategic area UiO:Life Science www.uio.no/life-science.

The ContraMent convergence environment aims to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge on how hormonal contraceptives (HCs) influences women’s mental health across the reproductive lifespan, in order to improve clinical decision-making and inform public health policy. The convergence environment includes four work packages, spanning pharmacoepidemiology, psychology, neuroscience, and clinical medicine, and is led by Professor Christian K. Tamnes.

This postdoctoral project will be part of the neuroscience work package which will investigate how HC use during adolescence influences structural and functional brain development and depression risk. Adolescence is a critical period of brain maturation and peak onset time for depression. During this time, suppression of endogenous sex hormones by HCs may disrupt neurodevelopmental processes, potentially elevating vulnerability to mood disorders. The project will leverage large-scale longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and conduct a new longitudinal study with adolescent girls initiating HC use.

The postdoctoral fellow is expected to plan and coordinate the new study, analyze neuroimaging data, perform statistical analyses, and write articles on neurodevelopment in relation to HC use and mental health outcomes. The fellow is also expected to collaborate with researchers from other work packages in the convergence environment. The neuroscience work package is led by Professor Christian K. Tamnes at PROMENTA and senior researcher Claudia Barth at Diakonhjemmet Hospital.

About the PROMENTA Research Center

At PROMENTA, we study mental health and quality of life from a holistic perspective — from genetics and biology to local communities and policy. We aim to identify the factors that shape good and poor mental health, understand how social inequalities arise, and develop and evaluate effective interventions that promote wellbeing.

We ensure that our postdoctoral fellows have the opportunity to develop high-quality research competence across disciplines, in collaboration with leading experts. With us, you will be part of a dynamic and interdisciplinary research environment, with ample opportunities for both scientific and social engagement throughout the academic year.

PROMENTA has more than 50 scientific staff members and was established with funding from the Research Council of Norway and the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo (UiO). Learn more about working at PROMENTA here: https://www.sv.uio.no/promenta/english/.

 Qualifications 

Required qualifications

• A PhD degree in psychology, human cognitive neuroscience, or a related field.
• Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Appointment is dependent on the public defense of the doctoral thesis being approved.
• Strong documented research experience on adolescent brain development and mental health, including depression
• Documented research experience within neuroendocrinology (puberty or hormone data)
• Strong skills in quantitative data analysis, including longitudinal analyses (R, Mplus or similar)
• Ambition and potential for high-quality research within the project, as evidenced by application letter and publication list.
• Excellent English skills, orally and in writing

Preferable additional qualifications

• Interest for research on topics related to women’s health
• Experience with human MRI data acquisition and processing
• Experience with working with and analysing data from large developmental neuroimaging datasets
• Experience with user involvement and co-produced research
• Experience with open science practices
• Teaching and supervision experience

What are we looking for in you? 

• Ability to work both independently and in a team
• Strong motivation to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We need different perspectives in our work 

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

We offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• Dedicated colleagues in a friendly and international work environment.
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK from 610 000 to 690 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Application

Your application should include:

• Application letter, describing your motivation for applying for the position, summarizing scientific work and research interests and how own qualifications match the announced position, max. 2 pages
• CV, with complete overview of education, work experience, and other qualifying activity.
• Publication list, can including preprints and scientific talks and posters. Publications should not be submitted along with the initial application.
• Transcripts and educational certificates, including a confirmation of submitted or completed PhD.
• Contact information for 2-3 references (name, title, email, phone number, and description of relationship to the applicant)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews. 

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.