Postdoctoral Research Fellow in bioinformatics at the K.G Jebsen Centre of Obesity Research (CORA)

About the position

Applications are invited for a 4-year position as postdoctoral researcher in epigenetics and obesity research at the newly established K.G Jebsen Centre of Obesity ReseArch (CORA). The position will be affiliated to Yvonne Böttcher’s research group at the Department of Clinical Molecular Biology (EpiGen) at Institute of Clinical Medicine, UiO, physically located at Campus Ahus (Akershus University Hospital). A part of your time shall be available for career-enhancing tasks (up to 25%).  

The project aims at investigating molecular mechanisms underlying weight regain and long-term weight loss maintenance using advanced molecular biology techniques. In particular, the project will investigate amongst other the concept of epigenetic memory of obesity in humans and closely collaborate with clinical environments involved in treatment of obesity.

The applicant will be involved in tasks related to high-end bioinformatics analyses of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic datasetsto be generated in CORA and potentially being implicated in the regulation of human body weight and adipose tissue biology in general. We are looking for a candidate with extensive hands-on training on a broad spectrum of multiomics bioinformatics data analyses and with existing knowledge in adipose tissue The applicant will join a team with long-standing experience in translational obesity research whilst other groups in the department Is generally working on translational biomedical research focusing on Alzheimer´s, and bioinformatics and molecular biology-based cancer research in a precision medicine perspective. 

Project description

Obesity is a growing health problem worldwide. Metabolic surgery or use of GLP-1R analoga are efficient methods to induce significant weight loss in individuals with obesity. However, many individuals struggle to maintain a healthier body weight and often suffer from regain weight after treatment. The newly established K.G. Jebsen Center for obesity research (CORA), lead by Prof. Yvonne Böttcher, aims to understand the biological mechanisms underlying weight regain and obesity relapse, identify individuals at risk, and develop strategies for sustained weight loss and long-term weight maintenance. 

Yvonne Böttcher’ research group (https://functionalgeneticsofobesity.wordpress.com/) is investigating the role of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic mechanisms in obesity, the molecular mechanisms imposed by DNA, RNA and histone modifications and their potential interplay with genetic risk variants. In CORA, the group will specifically focus on the role of epigenetic memory in adipose tissue after weight loss. 

The project aims at investigating mechanisms involved in metabolic memory in human adipose tissue and weight re-gain after weight loss in humans. The candidate will be closely involved in collaborations with molecular biologists and clinical environments in Norway and abroad. The successful applicant will will work on amongst others and not limited to, data set including amongst others, RNA seq, Chip seq, CUT & Tag, CUT & RUN, ribo seq, RNA methylation, DNA methylation and genetic risk markers for obesity originating from both human biomaterial and cell culture models to better understand the potential epigenetic mechanisms responsible for weight regain. The work will involve the analysis of high-throughput sequencing data, including quality control and preprocessing of raw sequencing data, as well as the application of appropriate bioinformatics tools for advanced analyses such as differential gene expression, differential DNA methylation, peak calling, transcription factor (TF) motif discovery, variant calling, and genome annotation and similar.

In particular, we expect the postdoctoral researcher to develop and/or apply computational methods for integrated analysis of multiple types of genomic data, considering diverse genomic features such as gene expression, TF binding, DNA methylation, and genetic mutations.

The position will require collaboration both within Norway, and internationally, with clinicians, molecular biologists and bioinformaticians/statisticians in other areas of the centre. 

Your areas of responsibility will be

• Carry out high-quality scientific research
• Publish results in high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Apply for research funding 
• Disseminate research at national and international meetings and conferences 
• Co-Mentoring of PhD and mentoring of master students

• A part of your time shall be available for career-enhancing task (max 25%):

  • Take part in activities of the K.G. Jebsen Academy for young scientists (courses, seminars)
  • Providing training in the use and operation of research infrastructure
  • Assisting other researchers or research groups with various types of research work
  • Norwegian language course, if applicable

Qualifications and competence

Qualification requirements:

• A degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in bioinformatics,or computational biology. However, candidates with relevant backgrounds in other fields, such as statistics, data science, or computer science, will also be considered, particularly those who demonstrate a strong interest in and potential to develop expertise in molecular biology and genome regulation. If the degree is not yet formally received, the doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the application date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defense are eligible for employment
• Experience in extensive data analyses in epigenetics and/or obesity research
• Hands-on experience in one or more of the following
  • Data anlyses on single cell sequencing techniques
  • Data analyses on data generated by various omics techniques such as ChIP-seq, CUT & Run; CUT & Tag, ATAC-seq, Whole genome bisulphite sequencing, RNAseq, Nanopore sequencing, ribosome profiling
  • Next generation sequencing data analysis in general (manipulation of fastq, BAM, VCF, BED files)   
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Published first author papers in well recognized journals
   

It is an advantage if you have:

We prefer candidates who have the following skills and experience:

• Proficiency in R, Python, and shell scripting
• Familiarity with Unix/Linux operating systems. Experience working with the University of Oslo's TSD environment is considered an advantage
• Containerization (apptainer/singularity, docker)
• Manage HPC clusters to analyses large data volumes
• Experience with workflow managers (snakemake, nextflow)
• Experience with software version control (git)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated experience in large-scale data analysis
• Documented experience in high-throughput sequencing data analysis and computational genomics, preferably demonstrated through previous research projects, publications, or other relevant work

Personal characteristics

• Team player
• Self-driven/ independent 
• Structured and well organized
• Good communication and collaboration skills
• Positive and enthusiastic

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 provide appropriate accommodations should you need them. 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, 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 can offer you

• A stimulating environment at a high scientific level at CORA, with possibilities for extensive cross-disciplinary collaborations
• Excellent scientific environment at EpiGen
• Career development programs through the Postdoctoral programme (The Medical Faculty, UiO), and through the K.G. Jebsen academy for young scientists
• 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.
• 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 595 000 to 679 000, 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 and CV
• A complete list of publications separating original publications from review articles
• Transcripts and certificates
• Contact information for 2-3 references

Your CV must be entered in Jobbnorge’s CV form and cannot be submitted only as an attachment. This requirement is intended to ensure correct documentation and record-keeping in accordance with the Public Administration Act, Section 15.

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

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

Please note that we are unable to add documentation after the application deadline. As the deadline applies equally to all applicants, this policy ensures equal treatment throughout the recruitment process. If you experience difficulties uploading documents in Jobbnorge, please contact their customer service: Phone: +47 75 54 22 20 or Email: support@grade.com 

The primary method of communication throughout the process will be e-mails and messages through the recruitment system Jobbnorge. When you receive a notification of a message in Jobbnorge, please log in to read it, as it may be important.

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

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

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 recruitment positions at UiO. 

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees to secure the rights to all research results and related intellectual property.