Doctoral studentship in Public Health Science

Description

The Faculty of Health, Science and Technology is accepting applications for a doctoral studentship leading to a PhD in Public Health Science at the Department of Health Sciences.

As a doctoral student, you will work in environmental epidemiology within an interdisciplinary research project investigating how early-life environmental exposures affect health and development in children and adolescents. The work is largely conducted within the framework of the SELMA study, in which 2,500 pregnant women were recruited and their children will be followed up into adulthood.

Key research questions concern the risks associated with exposure to environmental chemicals and the role of genetics in improving the understanding of underlying biological mechanisms. The work is expected to contribute to the development of improved methods for risk assessment of hazardous chemicals. SELMA is also linked to a broad, interdisciplinary network of researchers in several European countries and in the United States, particularly within experimental studies using cell and animal models, with the aim of increasing knowledge of the biological mechanisms that may explain epidemiological associations observed in the SELMA study. Link to article

Within this doctoral position, the focus is particularly on how exposures during pregnancy - such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their mixtures, stress, and nutrition - may affect children’s cognitive and behavioural development. The work also includes studies of epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation) and their role in improving the understanding of the relationship between environment and health, including advanced statistical modelling of large datasets. Epidemiological data for the project are already available. As a doctoral student, you will have excellent opportunities to collaborate with our various project partners in large interdisciplinary EU projects, particularly in epigenetics, where we have close and extensive collaboration with Uppsala University. There is also the possibility of teaching as part of the position. 

Duties

As a doctoral student, you will primarily dedicate time to your own studies. The doctoral programme comprises 240 credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 credits for a Degree of Licentiate. The doctoral appointment is a paid position that offers a combination of studies and work, and a great opportunity for a potential career in academia. Doctoral students are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities and development of the discipline and the department. You are given the opportunity to deepen your interests in collaboration with others. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of full-time. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you organise your tasks. This requires commitment, drive and the ability to structure your work to successfully complete the doctoral thesis.

To contribute to a positive work environment and further both the department’s activities and your own development as a researcher, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

Entry requirements and admission

To be eligible for a doctoral studentship, applicants must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, applicants must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification, satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements for doctoral studies in public health science, applicants must hold a Degree of Master (60 credits) in public health science or another specialisation considered equivalent. To be eligible for doctoral studies, applicants must also be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment.

Assessment criteria

The assessment of eligible applicants is based on the criteria listed below.

Special weight will be given to:

• knowledge of epidemiological methods with a focus on environmental exposures and their connections to neurological outcomes in children.
• knowledge of advanced statistical modelling, with documented academic results and the quality of completed assignments
• excellent collaboration skills, as well as the ability to work independently and show initiative and perseverance
• good command of English, both in speech and writing, as the project includes working with international partners

Considerable weight will be given to:

• previous participation in environmental epidemiology studies
• experience with advanced statistical modelling in R or SAS
• experience with genetic and epigenetic analyses
• any scientific publications in relevant areas

Valuable qualifications:

• teaching experience

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies consisting of research only. If teaching or other departmental duties become relevant, the appointment will be extended by a corresponding period, up to a maximum of five years full-time. The position is fixed-term, one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5). Start date as agreed by both parties. The salary for the doctoral studentship corresponds to the standard level of salary for doctoral students and progresses in accordance with a local collective agreement.

Application

Submit the application via the University’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

- a cover letter where the applicant details the reasons behind their interest in the position

- a list of qualifications (CV)

- degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates

- copy of Master’s thesis or equivalent

- where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications

- any letters of recommendation
- two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:

Karlstads universitet
HR-administratör
651 88 KARLSTAD

Application deadline: 30 January 2026

State the reference number: REK 2025/237

Applicants with qualifications from abroad

If you have qualifications from a university outside Sweden or if they have not been recognised by a Swedish authority before, it is important that you attach degree certificates and official transcripts to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications.
Provide a contact for the degree-awarding institution (phone number or email) who can verify your qualifications.

We look forward to your application!