Postdoctoral studies in in molecular signature of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?
The successful candidate will join and work closely with Assistant ProfessorAnna Marseglia's teamwithin theWestman neuroimaging group,an internationally recognized, collaborative research environment that focuses on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cognitive disorders.

You will work within a team spanning geriatrics, epidemiology, neuroscience, psychology, engineering, and statistics, where independent work is balanced with strong collaboration both within and beyond the research group, and own innovative ideas are strongly encouraged.
Division
TheDivision of Clinical Geriatrics at theNVS Department conducts clinically oriented research on Alzheimer's disease related disorders (ADRD) and other aging-related conditions in close cooperation with worldwide leading institutions and with the Theme Aging at Karolinska University Hospital.

Dr Marseglia's research focuses on vascular contributions to cognitive disorders and resilience, integrating multimodal data-including neuroimaging, clinical, lifestyle, socio-behavioral, and proteomic measures-alongside AI-derived brain age as a proxy of brain health and cognitive resilience. This project contributes to a broader effort to uncover biological mechanisms driving vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), and to identify biological signatures predicting clinical progression across the VCID spectrum, alone or with Alzheimer's disease.
Your mission
As part of this Swedish Research Council-funded project, you will initiate and lead independent studies aimed atidentifying molecular fingerprints (based on proteomic data, e.g. Olink)of vulnerability and resilience to VCID and how they relate with clinical, cognitive, lifestyle, and genetic features, covering the full VCID spectrum.You will primarily work with large-scale, multimodal longitudinal datasets, including the population-based Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort studies and UK Biobank. We will apply for access to additional cohorts integrating proteomic data with clinical, cognitive, neuroimaging, and genetic variables. The postdoc is expected to play an active role in this process. You will collaborate with experts in VCID and resilience research and contribute to the development of innovative, interdisciplinary and data-driven research approaches. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research at the intersection of vascular brain health, resilience, and precision medicine in ageing.
Duties
In this position, you will take on a broad and responsible role covering the full research process, from idea generation to publication. This includes data management and curation, data extraction, study design, statistical analyses, interpretation, and dissemination. You will play a key role in developing and leading the proteomics and multi-omics components of the project, working at the interface of molecular data, neuroimaging, and cognitive outcomes. Your responsibilities will include:

• Develop and refine research questions, conduct literature reviews, and manage and process data with a particular focus on proteomic data.
• Leading the analysis and integration of proteomic data, including quality control, normalization, and identification of molecular signatures.
• Apply advanced analytical approaches such as clustering/dimensionality reduction methods, supervised and unsupervised machine learning, and longitudinal statistical models to link molecular profiles to cognitive and other age-related outcomes.
• Interpret results and prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals; writing lay summaries for broader audiences is optional but encouraged.
• Present research findings at seminars, conferences, and other professional forums.
• Participate in regular meetings and engage in collaborations.
• Contribute to the development of new analytical pipelines and strategies for multi-omics integration within the group

You are expected to progressively initiate and lead your own research projects, including projects aligned with your expertise in proteomics and aging. The role may also involve supervising students, contributing to teaching activities, and participating in grant writing.

This postdoctoral scholarship is a full-time (100%) position for one year initially with the high possibility of extension for a further year, considering all the criteria are fulfilled.
Entry requirements
Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.

A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four-year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.

To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate, or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post-doctoral education.
Your Profile
To be considered for this position, you should meet the following criteria:

• PhD in bioinformatics, biostatistics, computational biology, system biology, data science, neuroscience, psychology or related field with a focus on omics data analysis in aging, with a solid publication record, including first-author research publication(s) in peer-reviewed international journals.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with proteomics data, including preprocessing, normalization, and downstream analyses (e.g., clustering, pathway analysis, biomarker discovery)
• Practical experience applying supervised and unsupervised machine learning (e.g., regression, classification, clustering, dimensionality reduction) to high-dimensional biological data
• Practical experience in longitudinal data analysis (e.g., survival models, multi-state, joint models)
• Strong programming skills in R or other relevant software.
• Previous research in one or more: Aging or age-related disease or Neurodegenerative/vascular cognitive disorders.
• Experience working with large-scale datasets and integrating heterogeneous data sources.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.
• Ability to work well both independently and collaboratively within an international multidisciplinary team.

You are ambitious, enthusiast, curious to learn new methods/skills/concepts, self-driven, detailed and goal-oriented, committed to high-quality work, with strong social and collaborative skills.

It is also considered an merit if you have one or more of the following:

• Training in epidemiology-related research methods, particularly within dementia research.
• Experience integrating omics data with clinical or neuroimaging data, preferably SVD markers
• Experiences with UK Biobank data and their Research Analysis Platform.
• Knowledge of cerebrovascular disease and link with vascular risk factors and conditions
• Track record of peer-reviewed high-quality scientific articles.
• Interest in translational research and biomarker development
• A strong interest in AI/machine learning applications in biomedical research and its integration with epidemiological methods in aging.

We are looking for a social person who enjoys collaborating. This is very important as the applicant will be working in a group. Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability.
What do we offer?
A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top-quality education and research. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

The successful candidate will have excellent opportunities for professional development through mentorship, networking, and scientific output.

Choose to work at KI - Ten reasons why | Karolinska Institutet

Location:Neo (Blickagången 16), KI Campus Flemingsberg
Type of scholarship
The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.
Application process
An application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

The application is to be submitted on the Varbi recruitment system.
Selection process
Applications will be evaluated in July. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews in August. The expected start date is fall 2026.

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