Postdoctoral researcher in genetic epidemiology of rheumatic disorders - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University (www.igp.uu.se) has a broad research profile with strong research groups focused on cancer, autoimmune and genetic diseases. A fundamental idea at the department is to stimulate translational research and thereby closer interactions between medical research and health care. Research is presently conducted in the following areas: medical and clinical genetics, clinical immunology, pathology, neuro-oncology, vascular biology, radiation science and molecular tools. Department activities are also integrated with the units for Oncology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Immunology, Clinical Pathology, and Hospital Physics at Akademiska sjukhuset, Uppsala. The department has teaching assignments in several education programmes, including Master Programmes, at the Faculty of Medicine, and in a number of educations at the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology. The department has a yearly turnover of around SEK 420 million, out of which more than half is made up of external funding. The staff amounts to approximately 345 employees, out of which 100 are PhD-students, and there are in total more than 700 affiliated people.

Project description: The postdoc will be supervised by Dr Weronica Ek and employed within the research group of Dr. Åsa Johansson (https://www.uu.se/en/research/ai4research/ and https://igp.uu.se/research/genetics_genomics/asa-johansson/). The project will focus on genetic and epidemiological studies of rheumatic disorders. The primary task is to analyze large-scale cohort and registry data, including both risk factors (including obesity, hormonal levels, lifestyle, diet), protein biomarkers, and genetic/genomic data (GWAS, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), whole-exome sequencing data (WES)), with a goal to also evaluate the ability to capture information from rare sequence variants. The secondary aim is to construct polygenic risk scores (with freely available tools, such as LD-pred, or tools that are currently being developed within the research lab) to identify individuals at high risk to develop a rheumatic disorder. Depending on the candidate, the position might also include working with (or develop) machine learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for analyzing WGS data in relation to rheumatic disorders. The duties include planning, conducting data analysis, compiling results, and writing and presenting scientific works. The work also includes contributing to the writing of research applications and some supervision (max. 20%) of master and PhD students.

Qualifications: To qualify for an employment as a postdoc you must have a PhD degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree. The PhD degree must have been obtained no more than three years prior to the application deadline. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labor unions, etc.

Specific qualifications for the position are:

*  Experience in bioinformatic or statistical analyzes of large-scale epidemiological, genomic, proteomic or transcriptomic data.
* Documented experience in programming in R.
*  Experience of GWAS, and/or sequencing studies.
*  Good ability to express yourself in English, both orally and in writing.
*  Good collaboration and communication skills.
*  Documented experience in compiling and publishing scientific articles in a related field.

Other merits:

- Experience of working with Mendelian Randomisation.
- Documented experience in using machine learning methods for analysis of genetic data is a merit.
- Knowledge or research experience of working with rheumatic disorders and/or inflammatory diseases is a merit.

Uppsala University strives to be an inclusive workplace that promotes equal opportunities and attracts qualified candidates who can contribute to the University’s excellence and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people of all backgrounds.

Salary: Individual salary.

Starting date: 01-04-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position of 2 years.

Scope of employment: 100 %.

For further information about the position please contact:  Åsa Johansson, asa.johansson@igp.uu.se, Weronica Ek,weronica.ek@igp.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 4 March 2021, UFV-PA 2021/461.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.