Postdoctoral research fellow focused on multimodal analyses of biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease

Description of the workplace

This is a unique opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher to join the teams at both the research group for Clinical Memory Research at Lund University (Sweden), and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Barcelona (Spain).  We study the biological processes behind Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. We work with cohorts of patients and cognitively healthy volunteers, who undergo extensive testing with brain imaging, biomarker measurements and neuropsychological testing, as well as animal and cell biology experiments. The research in Lund is led by Professor Oskar Hansson and the research in Barcelona is led by Dr Marc Suárez-Calvet. You can read more about the research in Lund here and the research in Barcelona here. The position is located at the BioMedical Center (Lund University)

About the project

The overarching goal of the project is to increase our understanding of AD and improve clinical patient management and clinical trials, by performing analyses of fluid (cerebrospinal fluid and blood) biomarkers in the continuum of Alzheimer’s disease, and their associations with neuroimaging, clinical, cognitive, and genetic data. The work relies on large cohorts managed at Lund University and BBRC. The research will be conducted under the leadership of Professor Oskar Hansson and university lecturer Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren at Lund University, and Dr Marc Suárez-Calvet at BBRC.

The BioFINDER cohorts

The research group for Clinical Memory Research at Lund University has created and oversees several cohorts. The largest of these are the BioFINDER-1 (N=1600) and BioFINDER-2 (N=2400) cohorts. These are prospective longitudinal cohorts which are managed at the Memory Clinic at Skåne University Hospital, Region Skåne, Malmö, Sweden. These studies have been used in several research projects to improve methods for diagnosis and prognosis, and for in vivo studies to investigate disease mechanisms, in AD as well as other neurodegenerative diseases (see e.g., Hansson et al, Nature Medicine, 2021; 27, 954-963). Both cohorts include subcohorts of cognitively normal controls, patients with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia due to AD as well as other dementias. The cohorts also include patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. Participants are recruited through different sources, including from population-based studies, and from neurology and memory clinics participating in our research. At baseline, all subjects undergo cognitive testing, together with sampling of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and neuroimaging. Most subjects undergo magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Several subcohorts undergo amyloid and tau PET imaging. Longitudinal follow-up includes repeated cognitive testing, fluid sampling for biomarker analyses, and neuroimaging. Besides BioFINDER-1 and BioFINDER-2, we also organize several other cohorts, including BioFINDER-Primary care (focusing on patients recruited at primary care units), BioFINDER-Preclinical, BioFINDER-Sleep, and other cohorts with specific focuses (www.biofinder.se).

The ALFA cohort

The BBRC has created the ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) programme for the prospective follow-up of a cohort of cognitively normal subjects, most of which are the offspring of AD patients. Our programme currently consists of the ALFA registry, the ALFA parent cohort, the ALFA+ study and associated ones. The ALFA registry contains basic demographic data of people willing to participate in current and/or future BBRC projects. The ALFA parent cohort is composed of 2,743 cognitively normal participants. A subset of the ALFA parent cohort participants is invited to take part in a nested longitudinal long-term study, named the ALFA+ study, in which a more detailed phenotyping is performed. On top of a similar characterization as in the ALFA parent cohort (neuropsychological, clinical, etc.), it entails the acquisition of both wet (CSF and blood sample collection) and imaging (MRI and PET) biomarkers. The ALFA+ longitudinal cohort includes 400 individuals, which are selected to participate based on their specific AD risk profile. Moreover, we have started the b-AARC study, which enrols 200 participants with subjective and/or mild objective decline in memory (SCD or MCI) or other cognitive abilities. Subjects are followed prospectively in a yearly basis with clinical and cognitive assessments, lifestyle habits, digital biomarker tools, diagnostic imaging and fluid biomarkers including CSF as well as novel blood-based biomarkers for AD.

We care about creating a positive, respectful, and stimulating environment. We value communication and collaboration and a workplace that promotes learning and development for all employees. We are also committed to building a safe and positive environment for all employees through mutual respect and tolerance.

We offer

Lund University is a governmental authority, which means you get special benefits, generous holidays and a favorable occupational pension. We also have a flexible time agreement that creates good conditions for a balance between work and leisure.

Read more on the university's website about being employed at Lund University, Work with us.

Work duties and responsibilities

As a postdoctoral research fellow, you work will include:

• Apply statistical methods for the analyses of multimodal (biochemical, cognitive, clinical, neuroimaging and genetic) cross-sectional and longitudinal data.
• Harmonizing data from cohorts of both Lund University and BBRC.
• Assist with the instructing and training of students, fellows, and other group members.
• Preparing and publishing high quality scholarly papers, contributing to the academic environment of the laboratory and institute.
• Participate in applications for competitive research funding support.
• Participate in regular internal meetings and internal as well as external collaborations.
• Other tasks within the research group may also occur.

Eligibility

Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position. This eligibility requirement needs to be met no later than the time when the employment decision is made, and evidence that this requirement is met needs to have been sent in by this time at the latest. Candidates should have completed their PhD degree no more than three (3) years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier. These circumstances refer to leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical work, positions of trust within trade union organizations or other similar circumstances.

Basis for assessment      

At Lund University, employment as a postdoctoral researcher provides opportunities for scientific and pedagogical merit. There is mainly room for merit in research, but also for certain higher education pedagogical training. Teaching may be included in the tasks.

For the employment as a postdoctoral research, scientific ability will primarily be taken into account.

Qualifications

Requirements:

• PhD degree (or will hold in the following months) in bioinformatics, biostatistics, computational biology, data science, medicine, neuropsychology, neurosciences, or a related field.
• A solid publication record with first-author research publication(s) in peer-reviewed international journals
• Strong interest in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and neurodegeneration.
• Strong statistics and data analyses skills.
• Good knowledge of statistical programming in R and/or other statistical packages.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English.
• Able to work both independently and collaboratively with others.
• A high level of motivation, drive, initiative and enthusiasm.

The following are considered a merit:

•  Previous experience of research in neurology or neurodegenerative diseases

Terms of employment

This is a full-time employment limited to 2 years, with a possible extension for up to one additional year. Preliminary start date 2024-12-01 or according to agreement. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral researcher”) between SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated November 19, 2021.

How to apply

The position is sought via the university’s recruitment system. Applications must include a personal motivation letter, in which you describe how you meet the qualification requirements and why you are interested in the position. The application must also contain a CV, contact information of two references, a diploma (including a grade transcript) and other documents you wish to be considered (e.g. letters of recommendation and list of publications).