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

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.