Postdoctoral position in Women’s Mental Health Full-time NEW

Postdoctoral Position in Women's Mental Health

Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Women's and Children's Health invites applications for a postdoctoral position in women's mental health at the Department of Women's and Children's Health.

The position is based in the research group of Professor Alkistis Skalkidou, an international and multidisciplinary research environment with a strong focus on women's health, perinatal mental health, reproductive health, and psychiatric epidemiology. The group conducts large population-based and register-based studies, including the MERIT, BASIC and Mom2B projects, and works in close collaboration with national and international partners.

The research group also works in close collaboration with the interdisciplinary research centre WHOLE – An Interdisciplinary Centre for Women's Health Over the Lifecourse: at the intersection of reproductive transitions, mental health and pain. WHOLE brings together researchers from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institute, from a broad range of disciplines to advance women's health from a life-course perspective. The successful candidate will interact with and contribute to this interdisciplinary environment while being primarily based in Professor Skalkidou's research group.

The postdoctoral project focuses on women's mental health across the life course, with particular emphasis on mental health in relation to reproductive transitions and women's health conditions. The project brings together leading international academic research groups with the overarching aim of understanding individual differences in the impact of physiological hormonal transitions, hormonal contraception and reproductive endocrine disorders on mental health, pain, and brain health. The postdoctoral project will integrate large-scale population data and clinical studies with neurobiological and cognitive neuroscience frameworks to better understand women's mental health across reproductive transitions and across the lifespan.

Duties include:

• Designing and conducting research studies in the field
• Working with large-scale registry and population-based data, as well as data from clinical cohorts
• Analyzing and interpreting data using appropriate epidemiological and statistical methods
• Publishing results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting findings at scientific conferences
• Contributing to the development of new projects and national and international interdisciplinary research collaborations
• Participating in supervision and mentoring of students where relevant
• Engaging in science communication and public outreach to promote nuanced, evidence-based understanding of women's health across the lifespan while helping to reduce stigma surrounding reproductive health conditions.

The position offers the opportunity to gain an extensive network for collaboration and professional growth, and work in a strong interdisciplinary environment with relevance for both science and society. The Department of Women and Children's Health at Uppsala University is a supportive and collaborative environment for interdisciplinary research, known for its strong and diverse team of international researchers.

Qualifications required include:

• A PhD degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment.
• A PhD degree in a relevant field, such as medicine, nursing, psychology, epidemiology, public health, neuroscience, biomedicine, or another related discipline (obtained by the time of employment start)
• Documented research experience relevant to women's mental health, neuroendocrinology, cognitive neuroscience, reproductive health, perinatal mental health, menopause, psychiatric epidemiology, or related areas, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications
• Experience in advanced quantitative research methods and statistical analysis and proficiency in using the R-statistical program
• Experience of working with complex longitudinal population-based, cohort, or registry data, or other relevant clinical or epidemiological datasets
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English proficiency
• In use of MS-Office and reference management programs
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment

Personal suitability is important for the position. Strong motivation, initiative, and enthusiasm for advancing interdisciplinary research on women's mental and brain health across the lifespan, including own research ideas aimed at improving understanding of how hormonal and reproductive factors shape mental health and resilience.

The following qualifications are considered strong advantages:

• Research experience in perinatal mental health, menopause-related mental health, reproductive biology, or other aspects of women's mental health
• Experience of Swedish health registers or similar large-scale data sources
• Experience of interdisciplinary collaboration across clinical, epidemiological, and/or biological research fields
• Experience of scientific communication and outreach
• Experience of supervision or mentoring

Selection of candidates is based on qualifications, previous work experience, and personal suitability.

The application should include:

• A brief personal letter describing your research interest and relevant experience, as well as possible ideas to pursue during this post-doc position
• CV copies of degree certificates and academic transcripts
• Doctoral thesis or a draft thereof
• Publications or other documents relevant to the application
• Contact information for two references

The employment is a temporary position of two years according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Professor Alkistis Skalkdiou, alkistis.skalkidou@uu.se

Please submit your application by 23 April 2026, UFV-PA 2026/1068.