PhD-fellowship

About this job

About the position We invite applicants for a four-year position as a PhD research fellow at the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Oslo. The position is associated with the interdisciplinary project: «Decoding addiction», funded by a UiO Life Science grant. The candidate would join the “Project knockout” team and conduct laboratory testing of pain, reward, and stress in a newly discovered human genetic knockout model population. Data analysis of large-scale registry data comparing mutation carriers to non-carriers is also part of the project, which aims to generate novel insights into human endogenous opioid function. The position is full-time for a fixed-term of four years and includes 25% career promoting work, which may consist of teaching, dissemination, and contribution to other activities at the Department. Start date: summer/autumn 2026. More about the position The project studies how Opioid analgesics are powerful medical tools with the potential to cause terrible side effects. Because their effects are so variable across individuals and contexts, many key debates remain unsettled in the field. Improved understanding of endogenous opioid functions in the healthy human brain is urgently needed. While it is well known that opioid drugs interfere with the many functions endogenous opioids serve throughout the brain and body, current understanding relies too heavily on extrapolation from rodent studies and non-specific pharmacology in humans. Notably, genetically engineered ‘knockout’ mice that lack the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) have revealed the opioid-dependence of e.g. pain and stress regulation. Moreover, an OPRM1 genetic dose response was found for reward by comparing knockouts to heterozygous knockdown mice with few mu-opioid receptors. The project centers on a newly discovered human OPRM1 knockout/knockdown model to probe human endogenous opioid function with a precision far exceeding existing antagonist studies in the field. The project offers opportunities to develop unique competence in behavioral genetics, experimental psychology and psychopharmacology, whilst working in an ambitious yet friendly and collaborative, interdisciplinary environment. The research group comprises affective and social neuroscience, psychology, anesthesiology, and other disciplines and specializes in the study of pain, reward, stress, and addiction. The candidate will participate in study design, data collection, analysis, and publications in close collaboration with other team members and under the guidance of Siri Leknes. Further details about the project are available upon request. Your main tasks will be: Help finalize and validate test setup for pain, stress, and reward tasks Contribute to recruitment, data collection and analysis of experimental data Contribute to gaining access to and data analysis of registry data including genetic information, e.g. from MoBa, UK Biobank, Hunt, and other relevant registries Maintain good collaboration within the Knockout team and across the disciplines represented in the broader Decode project First author papers summarizing and interpreting insights from experimental and registry data, taking into account insights from the preclinical and basic science parts of the Decode project The PhD fellow will take part in the approved PhD program at the Department of Psychology. The main purpose of the PhD fellowship is to qualify the candidate for a research career within or beyond academia. To support a strategic and well-structured PhD trajectory, the PhD fellow will be required to develop a career and competence development plan in dialogue with the supervisory team early in the appointment period. What skills are important in this role? Applicants must hold a medical degree or a Masters in psychology, neuroscience, or a closely related field. To be employed as a PhD Research Fellow, admission to a doctoral program is required, or there must be a binding agreement for admission. Read about admission to the Faculty's PhD program here: https://www.sv.uio.no/english/research/phd/application/phd-fellowship/ Documented research experience relevant to the project is a requirement. This may come from a master’s thesis, research assistantship, or other comparable research activity, for example in psychopharmacology, computational neuroscience, experimental psychology, functional imaging, or behavioral genetics. Coding skills and experience with statistical modelling are a strong advantage. Fluent oral and written communication skills in English are required. The cover letter must include brief reflections on the implementation of this behavioral genetics study. For instance, you could reflect on the choice of tasks that could be used to test pain, stress, or reward sensitivity. Alternatively, provide a brief sketch of an analysis plan for data extracted from suitable databases, ideas for statistical analysis comparing single-case/small-group mu

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