Research assistant in psychoneuroimmunology

Would you like to help improve people’s health?
Welcome to a dynamic and inclusive research group at the forefront of psychoneuroimmunological research, where we investigate the interaction between behaviour, brain function and the immune system. Our interdisciplinary group brings together psychology, neuroscience and immunology, with strong collaborations in both experimental and clinical research.
Your role
Sickness behaviour refers to the coordinated set of behavioural changes and subjective experiences that occur during acute infections. In psychoneuroimmunology, sickness behaviour is thought to support immune function as part of an adaptive response. However, this hypothesis has not yet been tested in humans. The aim of this project is to investigate how sickness behaviour affects immune responses during a cold induced under controlled laboratory conditions. The research group is led by Associate Professor Julie Lasselin.
This is a part-time position at 75% for 6 months, with the possibility of an extension to a total of 1 year.
Your duties will include:
contributing to the planning of the study, including recruiting participants and communicating with them
coordinating study days
collecting data, under the supervision of Associate Professor Julie Lasselin and other researchers in charge, and in collaboration with the other team members
administering behavioural tests
looking after study participants throughout the study and carrying out other day-to-day study-related activities, such as managing and storing data and handling blood samples
basic data analysis.

Data collection will take place at an external research facility (Tovetorp), where participants will stay in quarantine. You will be expected to be present at the research facility for several consecutive days during data collection periods.
In addition to the main project, you may also contribute to other ongoing studies within the research group involving similar research-related duties.
Who are you?
Eligibility requirements for the position:

A master’s degree in psychology, neuroscience, biomedicine or another subject area considered relevant to the position.

Documented experience of conducting clinical or experimental studies involving humans, as well as psychological and/or neurocognitive assessments.

Documented experience of recruiting study participants, interacting with participants, working according to carefully defined research protocols, and administering psychological and cognitive tests.

Very good spoken and written English.

Good ability to plan your time and tasks and to work proactively.

Great importance will also be attached to personal suitability.
The following qualifications are particularly advantageous:
Good spoken and written Swedish.
Basic knowledge of the immune system, sickness behaviour and psychoneuroimmunology

The following qualifications are advantageous:
Experience of planning complex data collection.
Experience of handling blood samples.

What do we offer?
A creative, international and inspiring environment filled with expertise and curiosity. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities. Our vision is to advance knowledge about life and work towards better health for everyone. We conduct successful medical research and offer the widest range of medical education in Sweden. As a university, Karolinska Institutet is a government agency. This means you receive good benefits through our collective agreement (kollektivavtal). KI employees are also offered the opportunity to work flexibly. This means that, if your area of work allows it, you can work remotely for part of your working hours. You can also exercise free of charge at our modern fitness facilities, where trained staff are on hand.
Location: Solna (and Tovetorp during data collection periods)
Read more about the Department of Clinical Neuroscience
Read more about the research group you will be joining

Application
KI applies individual and differentiated salaries in accordance with our collective agreements RALS and RALS-T.
Applications must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system. For this recruitment, apply with your CV and no cover letter. Instead, the application form will ask you to answer a few questions about why you are applying for the job.
Would you like to make a difference and contribute to better health for everyone? Apply for a job with us!