Karolinska Institutet postdoctoral scholarship

Karolinska Institutet is recruiting two postdoctoral scholarship positions in the research group of Anna Marseglia (Assistant Professor & Neuropsychologist) within the Westman neuroimaging group and the Division of Clinical Geriatrics, NVS Department.

Postdoc 1: Sex differences in social health, cognition and resilience
This project examines how socio-cultural determinants shape social health trajectories and later-life cognitive resilience, with a focus on sex differences, dementia vulnerability, and aging. The work integrates brain MRI markers, cognition, biomarkers, and rich life-course data from Nordic aging cohorts and the UK Biobank. Strong skills in longitudinal modeling and R are important, and experience with UK Biobank is a plus.

Postdoc 2: Molecular signatures of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID)
This project investigates molecular pathways of VCID using multimodal data, including proteomics, neuroimaging markers of small vessel disease, clinical, cognitive, lifestyle, psychosocial, and genetic data. The role emphasizes proteomics analysis, multi-omics integration, machine learning, and longitudinal modeling, with data from Swedish aging cohorts and the UK Biobank.

Research environment
The team works in a multidisciplinary setting spanning geriatrics, epidemiology, neuroscience, psychology, engineering, and statistics. The projects are embedded in a collaborative international environment focused on prevention, early diagnosis, cognitive disorders, resilience, and precision medicine in aging.

Eligibility highlights
Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent in relevant fields such as epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, bioinformatics, computational biology, systems biology, or data science. For the first project, experience in social determinants of health and sex differences in aging is important; for the second, hands-on proteomics and omics analysis experience is required. Strong English communication skills, independence, teamwork, and experience with large-scale multimodal datasets are expected.

Funding and duration
These are scholarship-funded postdoctoral positions at KI. The scholarship is tax free, paid in 12-month blocks, and the appointment is full-time for one year initially with a strong possibility of extension for a second year.

Application window
Deadline: 8 July 2026. The expected start date is Fall 2026. Applications are evaluated in July and shortlisted candidates are interviewed in August.

How to apply
Apply via the Varbi recruitment system using the relevant job link. Prepare the required documents in English or Swedish: CV, publication list, and a one-page summary of current work. Contact Anna Marseglia for project questions.