Postdoctoral fellowship LCBC

About the position

A postdoctoral fellowship is available at the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), at the Department of Psychology (PSI), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo. The postdoctoral fellow will work on the "BrainSleep" project: Does sleep duration affect the brain? funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project's aim is to study the affect of sleep on brain health and cognitive processes. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used in the project in combination with cognitive, neuropsychological and somatic assessments. The position will particularly focus on understanding how cognitive abilities and the brain change throughout life, and what factors influence these changes. The fellowship is for three years, with the possibility of up to one additional year of teaching duties, depending on the applicant's competence and teaching needs of PSI. The planned start date is September 2025.

The goal of LCBC is to understand differences and changes in brain and cognition through the entire lifespan, as well as how brain and cognition can be optimized. LCBC is an active multidisciplinary research center, with a staff of about 25 full-time positions, including three faculty professors, two researchers, several postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. candidates, data engineers, full and part-time research assistants, administrative support, and several affiliated international researchers.

LCBC has an excellent research infrastructure, including access to a 3T Siemens Prisma, PET and EEG, and neuropsychological and somatic test facilities. English is the main language of the center. LCBC has obtained several large grants, including four grants from the European Research Council (ERC), a Horizon 2020 grant, as well as funding from the Research Council of Norway, the National Health Association and the University of Oslo. The group was in 2015 appointed status as “world-leading” as one of five appointed at the University of Oslo. More information can be found on https://www.lcbc.uio.no.
 

Job description

• Develop quantitative models to estimate how the brain and various cognitive processes change throughout life.
• Process and analyze data from multiple sources, including behavioral data, MRI data, and other types of data.
• Contribute to projects at LCBC with data analysis, development, and implementation of advanced machine learning models.
• Write and publish scientific articles.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements

• PhD in a relevant field before commencing the position, such as psychology, computer science, and biostatistics. The applicant must have submitted their PhD thesis for evaluation by the closing date of this announcement.
• Strong experience in using MRI to study brain structure.
• Extensive experience with machine learning in image analysis, particularly with MRI of the brain.
• Strong programming skills, for example in Python.
• Several of the researchers the candidate will work closely with speak English, so very good proficiency in written and spoken English is a prerequisite.
   

The following will be considered advantages

• Good understanding of quantitative methods.
• Familiarity with established softwares for the analysis and processing of MRI images of the brain.
• Experience with research in interdisciplinary environments.

Personal skills

In the evaluation of applicants, emphasis will be placed on the following personal skills:

• Cooperation skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic collaboration
• Professional and personal ability to work independently

In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed upon the quality of the candidate's academic qualifications. Interviews with selected candidates will be arranged where the applicant's prerequisites, interest in the topic and, cooperative skills will be assessed.

We offer

• Salary NOK 610 000-  690 000 per year, - depending on experience and qualifications in a position as Postdoctoral Research fellow, (SKO 1352).
• Professional development in a stimulating academic environment.
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• In addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.
• 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.
• 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.

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

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

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

Application

Your application should include:

• Letter of application, 1-2 pages, explaining the motivation for applying.
• Curriculum Vitae summarizing education, positions, and academic work.
• Copies of educational certificates, publications/academic work (if any) that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee.
• Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail, and telephone number).
• International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system. 

All applications must be submitted through the online application system: jobbnorge.no. All documents should be in Scandinavian or English. The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system. Please follow the link “apply for this job”. 

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the eventual “project description” and the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Applicants may be called in for an interview.
 

This is a project funded by the Research Council of Norway and applicants with a previous postdoctoral fellowship funded by NFR cannot be appointed for this 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 (Norwegian).

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

Formal regulations

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