Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Genetics

Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Genetics

UEF - University of Eastern Finland

Kuopio, Finland

€ 3,560 - € 4,050 per month

Role

As our new Postdoctoral Researcher in human genetics, bioinformatics, or a related field, you will be working in the Institute of Biomedicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences on the Research Council of Finland–funded project ‘Functional Genomics of Glucocorticoid-induced comorbidities (FUNGO)’ led by University Lecturer Einari Niskanen. The position is located in Kuopio, Finland. 

The project focuses on understanding how genetic variation influences individual responses to glucocorticoids (GCs), which are commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs. While highly effective, long-term GC use can lead to serious side effects, such as diabetes and osteoporosis, with substantial inter-individual variability partly driven by genetic factors. The project utilises data from the large FinnGen study to identify genetic variants associated with GC-related adverse outcomes. The overall aim is to bridge large-scale genomic discovery with functional validation, ultimately contributing to safer and more personalised therapies.

As a Postdoctoral Researcher, your main responsibilities will include:

• conducting research in accordance with the funded project, focusing on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses using FinnGen data;
• conducting integrative analyses combining omics, GWAS, and health register data;
• actively contributing to reporting results and producing high-quality scientific publications;
• collaborating with experimental researchers to support functional follow-up studies.

Requirements and advantages 

Requirements:

• A doctoral degree in genetics, bioinformatics, biomedicine, molecular biology, or a closely related field (completed or near completion at the time of application). Applicants with a background in biomedicine or molecular biology must have substantial demonstrated experience in genomics or bioinformatics data analysis;
• The doctoral degree may not have been completed more than five years ago at the time of accepting the position (a net period of time, which does not include parental leaves, military service etc.);
• Experience in analysing large-scale genomic variation data (e.g. GWAS, PRS);
• Proficiency in programming (e.g. R, Python) and statistical methods;
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Advantages:

• Experience working with FinnGen or other biobank and health register datasets;
• Experience in statistical genetics, GWAS, or polygenic modelling;
• Previous research experience related to drug responses, comorbidities, or adverse drug effects.