Doctoral (PhD) student position in Precision Psychiatry - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

To be a doctoral student means to devote oneself to a research project under supervision of experienced researchers and following an individual study plan. For a doctoral degree, the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education is required.

The research group

Christian Rücks research groups consists of about 20 members, including 7 post doctoral researchers. In our research group we work to improve the lives of individuals with psychiatric conditions through understanding their genesis and developing treatments. A core theme of our research is to develop more accurate prediction models for both the risk of, and also consequences of, psychiatric conditions. We work in an interdisciplinary and clinically integrated research environment where you have the possibility to contribute to high-quality research at high international level.

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student

The overarching purpose of your PhD project is to improve routine-care predictions of post cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) outcomes for common mental disorders. Our developed prediction models will be focused on avoiding unnecessary treatment failures, minimizing adverse long-term health and socioeconomic events, and promoting effective use of psychiatric resources. Today, there is a general lack of accurate prognostic risk tools implemented in routine psychiatric care, which directly hampers our possibilities for timely and cost-effective tailored intervention and care. The main objective of your PhD project is thus to construct and validate prediction models for both clinical CBT outcomes and long-term register outcomes using the world’s largest multimodal database in the field (clinical, register-linked, and genetic data) including 5,000 individuals treated with CBT. First, traditional statistical methods will be applied to identify predictors for these outcomes at the group-level. Second, prognostic machine learning models will be built that are optimized for individual-level prediction of these outcomes. Third, we will plan and initiate a prospective validation of one of our predictive models versus experienced clinicians at predicting post treatment remission in new patients treated with CBT.

Duties:

• Coordinate involved collaborators at different levels of the project.
• Handle multimodal data (clinical, registry-based, genetic)
• Perform statistical modelling with a gradual complexity progression.
• Produce scientific manuscripts.
• Complete doctoral training, including courses and other research-related activities.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment full of expertise and curiosity. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote a better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct important medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. As a doctoral student you are offered an individual research project, a well-educated supervisor, a vast range of elective courses and the opportunity to work in a leading research group. You will be supervised by John Wallert and co-supervised by Christian Rück. Karolinska Institutet collaborates with prominent universities from all around the world, which ensures opportunities for international exchanges. You will be employed on a doctoral studentship which means that you receive a contractual salary. Employees also have access to our modern gym for free and receive reimbursements for medical care.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral education

In order to participate in the selection for a doctoral position, you must meet the following general (A) and specific (B) eligibility requirements at latest by the application deadline.

It is your responsibility to certify eligibility by following the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

A) General eligibility requirement

You meet the general eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

1. have been awarded a second-cycle/advanced/master qualification (i.e. master degree), or
2. have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the advanced/second-cycle/master level, or
3. have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.*

Follow the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

*If you claim equivalent knowledge, follow the instructions on the web page Assessing equivalent knowledge for general eligibility for doctoral education.

B) Specific eligibility requirement

You meet the specific eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

- Show proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school.

Follow the instructions on the web page English language requirements for doctoral education.

Verification of your documents Karolinska Institutet checks the authenticity of your documents. Karolinska Institutet reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent. Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

(A) and (B) can only be certified by the documentation requirement for doctoral education.

Skills and personal qualities

You are a very motivated individual possessing an excellent analytical ability and a particular interest in quantitative methodology and advanced modelling, including machine learning. You are also interested in understanding the causal structure of psychiatric conditions. Skills in R, Python or similar programming languages is required for this position. Previous experience with large-scale observational research, registry-based research, factor analysis, psychiatric genetics, epidemiology, biostatistics, and data collection is advantageous. Since the research group is international and communication mainly occurs in English, excellent English speaking and writing abilities are required. Basic Swedish proficiency is beneficial but not required. You are expected to display a high degree of contentiousness, initiative-taking, stamina and autonomy.

Terms and conditions

The doctoral student will be employed on a doctoral studentship maximum 4 years full-time.

Application process

Submit your application and supporting documents through the Varbi recruitment system. Use the button in the top right corner and follow the instructions. We prefer that your application is written in English, but you can also apply in Swedish.

Your application must contain the following documents:

- A personal letter and a curriculum vitae
- Degree projects and previous publications, if any
- Any other documentation showing the desirable skills and personal qualities described above
- Documents certifying your general eligibility (see A above)
- Documents certifying your specific eligibility (see B above)

Selection

A selection will be made among eligible applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

Karolinska Institutet uses the following bases of assessment:

- Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
- Analytical skill
- Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject.

All applicants will be informed when the recruitment is completed.

Read more about the research group here

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