Postdoctoral Researcher in Liver Epidemiology

Organisation/Company Karolinska Institutet (KI) Research Field Medical sciences » Medicine Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 3 Aug 2026 - 21:59 (UTC) Country Sweden Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics conducts research in epidemiology and biostatistics across a broad range of areas within biomedical science. The department is among the largest of its type in Europe and has especially strong research profiles in gastrointestinal, psychiatric, and cancer epidemiology, as well as biostatistics.

Part of the success of our department is due to our collaborative spirit where one factor is that researchers at the Department share and co-finance common resources (e.g., IT and an applied biostatistics group). The department is situated at campus Solna: (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./meb

The gastrointestinal epidemiology group at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MEB) is now looking for a postdoc who wants to understand and prevent liver disease with a focus on alpha‑1‑antitrypsin deficiency, MASLD and PSC. Our research group consists of epidemiologists, clinicians, and database administrators and provides a vibrant and stimulating working atmosphere. The research group has members from Sweden, Switzerland, China, and the US.

Sweden is renowned for its world‑class nationwide health registers. Based on these registers, Swedish researchers have produced outstanding papers and advanced our understanding in fields such as liver disease, coeliac disease, oesophageal disease, IBD, microscopic colitis but also colorectal cancer. Through linkage with the personal identity number, it is possible to combine information from national healthcare registers. However, a limitation of these registers is the absence of histopathology data (which we have!).

Through a nationwide collection of computerised biopsy report data from all Swedish 28 pathology departments, we have created a database of 2.6 million individuals (with 8.3 million biopsy reports) who have undergone a biopsy of the gastrointestinal tract (intestine/liver/pancreas/gall bladder). The cohort is known under its acronym ESPRESSO (Epidemiology Strengthened by histoPathology Reports in Sweden).

Your main responsibilities will be to perform research in liver epidemiology (especially alpha‑1‑antitrypsin deficiency but potentially also PSC and MASLD), exploring risk factors and prognosis of diseases where histopathology is essential. The position requires a high level of statistical/mathematical competence, and to absorb necessary knowledge on liver disease aetiology, epidemiology and register‑based research.

At our department, you will have vast opportunities to engage and participate in various research forums, outside as well as inside the department. MEB is an inclusive workplace, encouraging collaborative departmental and interdisciplinary research, and we have an infrastructure to support our approach.

The appointment will be for 2 years, with a possible extension after evaluation.

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed…