Professor of pharmacoepidemiology

- with focus on research

Do you want to contribute to improving human health?

We are seeking a professor with a strong interest and commitment to pharmacoepidemiology, who willing to undertake the role as scientific leader for the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology (CPE) within the Clinical Epidemiology Division (KEP), at the Department of Medicine Solna (MedS).

We offer an internationally leading university environment at the Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with national and international partners.

Description of the subject area

The Center for Pharmacoepidemiology (CPE), located within the Clinical Epidemiology Division (KEP) at the Department of Medicine Solna (MedS), was founded in 2005 and has since grown and evolved. With around 20 employees and affiliated staff, CPE is now one of the largest and leading academic centres in the field of pharmacoepidemiology in Europe. CPE has established international collaborations with various stakeholders and actively participates in several Nordic, European, and other international consortia.

At CPE, research in pharmacoepidemiology is combined with commissioned projects on drug safety, efficacy, and utilization, in cooperation with pharmaceutical industry and regulatory authorities, and in international collaboration. Research-questions include absolute and comparative safety of new therapies, and the evaluation of new safety signals, and safety in conjunction with use in specific populations, such as use during pregnancy, in elderly, in comorbid conditions, often based on register-data combined with e.g., clinical data. Besides drug safety, the pharmacoepidemiological field of research (of relevance at CPE) research questions related to the design and evaluation of risk minimisation strategies, comparative effectiveness, (design of) register-based trials, descriptive characteristics of the use of medicinal drugs and determinants of such use. With precision medicine, the development of new data sources and new methods (e.g., AI), pharmacoepidemiology is a research field in good development.

Your mission

You are expected to conduct internationally leading research in the field of pharmacoepidemiology, relevant to the mission and activities of CPE within the area of monitoring of the effectiveness, safety, and utilization of new and established drugs across various therapeutic areas. You are expected to lead the development of the subject area, including the use of new data sources, new analysis methods, and integration of the field with translational research in order to further improve the opportunities for precision medicine in drug treatment. You are expected to be responsible for research and doctoral education within a research group.

Besides research within the area, the duties will also include a role as the scientific leader of CPE. You are therefore expected to:

• strategically develop CPE's activities both internationally and internally, and ensure the recruitment of younger researchers
• represent CPE as the main point of contact with external partners in academia as well as with industry, authorities, and other relevant networks
• be ultimately responsible for academic research, commissioned projects, and doctoral education at CPE
• be ultimately responsible for securing funding for your own research group and for CPE's activities

The scientific leadership role will be carried out in collaboration with the operationally responsible manager for CPE's commissioned activities.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for an employment as Professor with focus on research the applicant must have demonstrated good pedagogical expertise and excellent scientific expertise. (See the instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure for Teachers at Karolinska Institutet).

Furthermore, the successful applicant is active in research with an established research line in pharmacoepidemiology (including a focus on drug safety), as well as in doctoral education with supervision of doctoral students. You shall demonstrate:

• internationally competitive research in this area
• good leadership of a team or a research group, and a good ability to collaborate and work in team
• national or international research grants achieved in open competition during the most recent five years
• experience of leadership/management

Assessment criteria

The position is oriented towards research. For this position, the weighting of merits will be as follows: scientific proficiency (3), pedagogical skills (1), and leadership, development, and collaboration skills (2).

When employed as a professor at Karolinska Institutet, the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria specified in the employment regulations in relation to the established employment profile.

Demonstration of the following is particularly meritorious:

• an internationally recognized pharmaco-epidemiological research profile including development or adaptation of methods and data sources relevant to monitoring the effects, safety, and use of newer drugs, as well as strategies for risk minimization and pharmacovigilance
• experience from research based on data from national health data registers and/or other healthcare administrative systems
• experience from collaboration between relevant stakeholders (academia, healthcare, regulatory and other agencies, and pharma industry)

Demonstration of the following is meritorious:

• experience from health data form the Nordic countries
• good knowledge about the Swedish health care system
• fluency in spoken and written English
• proficiency in Swedish or other Scandinavian languages; you should be able to handle contacts with Swedish authorities

Additionally, it is a requirement that you have completed 10 weeks of courses on teaching in higher education, or have gained equivalent competence, as indicated in the recommendations of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institution. If you lack such education at the time of employment, you must undergo such education during the first two years of employment.

It is based on an overall assessment of the applicants' merits and skills that Karolinska Institutet assesses which of the applicants have the best conditions to contribute to a positive development of the activities. Since the intended employment is about developing a research area and future leadership, personal merits such as collaboration skills will be heavily weighted.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement. 

Location: Solna 

Institutionen för medicin, Solna

Application

Your application must contain the following documents in English: a cover letter as well as a resumé and a qualifications portfolio including a description of your research plan, both presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet’s template (http://ki.se/qualificationsportfolio). You may change or add to your application at any time up to and including the application deadline date. After the deadline, the process closes, and no amendment or addition can be made to your application.

The applications will be reviewed by external reviewers, most often both national and international. For that reason, all the submitted documents should be written in English.

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all.

1. Johan Askling, johan.askling@ki.se

1. Louisa Cheung, SACO, louisa.cheung@ki.se
2. Ames Hakam, OFR, ames.hakam@ki.se)
3. Maria Eldh, OFR, maria.eldh@ki.se