Research assistants - National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University

The National Centre for Register-based Research (NCRR) seeks to hire one or more research assistants for projects focused on psychiatric epidemiology and statistical genetics. NCRR is part of Aarhus BSS at Aarhus University, and is financed mainly by external research funds. The center carries out register-based research primarily within psychiatric epidemiology. Data sources are ongoingly expanded and includes e.g. health data in general, and psychiatric disorders in particular, prescriptions, socioeconomic covariates, and genetics.


Job description

The work is primarily of a research supporting nature. The tasks include data management, systematic quality assurancance of data, designing studies, data analyzes, and presentation of results in collaboration with researchers. Collaborators include researchers at NCRR, national and international collaborators.

The starting date is June 1st 2024, but can be flexible subject to mutual agreement
The duration of the employment will be 3 years full-time.


We offer

• Interdisciplinary, exciting collaboration with skilled and committed colleagues
• A good working environment characterized by a good and informal tone
• Good collegial sparring

Your profile

Besides having a strong motivation to work with psychiatric epidemiology and data analyses, the research assistant is expected to have the following qualifications and relevant experiences.

Qualifications

• A master's degree in bioinformatics, statistics, computer science, mathematics, data science, epidemiology, public health or similar
• Excellent collaborative and communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and in structured groups.
• Fluent in spoken and written English (English is the working language)

An advantage having experience with

• Psychiatric disorder research or statistical genetics
• Analysing large health datasets, electronic health records, UK Biobank, All-of-Us, or similar sources
• Statistical analyses of multivariate longitudinal and survival data.
• Analysing large genetic datasets, e.g. using programs like PLINK, bigsnpr, regenie, BOLT-LMM, GCTA, LDSC, LDAK, LDpred1/2, PRS-CS, SBayesR, PRSice.
• Machine learning approaches, e.g. deep learning, autoencoders, XGboost, or penalized regression.
• Writing code in R, STATA, python, C++, or other programming languages.

About us

NCRR – the National Centre for Register-based Research – is a section at Aarhus BSS, financed mainly by external research funds. The Centre houses an internationally acknowledged group of researchers in psychiatric epidemiology, regularly publishing scientific articles. In addition to its own research, the Centre also conducts guidance and counselling related to register-based research projects, validation and data management of register data, as well as development of methods for analysis of register data.


Large research projects anchored at NCRR

• EpiPsych: EpiPsych will build a mental health research structure across Denmark for continued and long-term development of translational epidemiology informing and improving clinical psychiatry. This includes developing and evaluating risk models in a clinical setting.
• iPSYCH: iPSYCH is a central project in the research at NCRRfocusing on the environmental and genetic architecture of mental disorders. iPSYCH is the world’s largest study of its kind and presently includes approx. 146,500 persons.
• CIRRAU: The National Center for Register-based Research also houses CIRRAU – Center for Integrated Register-Based Research – funded by Aarhus University for the purpose of promoting interdisciplinary register-based research. CIRRAU provides the necessary and basic data infrastructure for the implementation of several registry-based research projects.

Collaborating institutions

The National Centre for Register-based Research has a wide range of collaborating partners including Oxford University, Oxford, UK; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, MA, USA; University of Queensland, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research; University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA; and worldwide collaborators in Psychiatric Genetic Consordium. The National Centre for Register-based Research has a wide range of national collaborating clinical partners including Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark.
 

Place of work

Fuglesangs Allé 26, 8210 Aarhus V.


Further information

Contact persons: Liselotte Vogdrup Petersen, senior researcher, email: [email protected],
Bjarni Jóhann Vilhjálmsson, professor, email: [email protected].

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR supporter, Line Møller Kristiansen, Tel.: +45 93522904, Email: [email protected]
 


Qualification requirements

The qualification requirement for appointment as research assistant is a Master's degree.


International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information here:
https://internationalstaff.au.dk/relocationservice/

Please find more information about research opportunities at Aarhus University here: http://international.au.dk/research/

Terms of employment

The appointment is made in accordance with the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities as well as the circular on the Collective Agreement for Academics Employed by the State (in Danish).
The job content and qualification requirements are described in further detail in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.


Application procedure

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae. You are encouraged to declare any periods of leave without research activity, including, for example, maternity leave, since your research activities are assessed in relation to your actual research time
• Education (diploma for master's, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree)

In addition the following documents can be included in the application:

• List of publications (the enclosed publications must be clearly marked on the list of publications)

Publications. Up to three publications may be submitted. In the event of several authors the publications must be accompanied by a co-author statement concerning the applicant's share of the collaborative work with the consent of the co-authors. Please use this template

• Teaching portfolio. The specific requirements regarding the documentation can be found here

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in three copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Tåsingegade 1, 2nd floor, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS here


The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. For further information, see Guidelines for Assessment Committee, Aarhus BSS.Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

 


Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/