Postdoctoral Researcher in Nutritional Neuroscience

Do you want to contribute to better health for all?

In our research group you will find a unique opportunity to work closely with top researchers at the interface between psychology and neuroscience to jointly try to understand how the human brain uses sensory input in the regulation of food intake. We offer an engaging and international research environment where you will have the opportunity to contribute to high-quality research at an international top level.

Your mission

The project you will be conducting integrates olfactory and gustatory perception, reward processing, and eating disorder research to address three intertwined goals: first, to increase our understanding of the fundamental behavioral mechanisms that regulate the experience of pleasantness and motivational value of food stimuli and their impact on the initiation of reward-seeking behaviors, second, to determine their underlying neural mechanisms, and finally, to test whether dysfunctions in these mechanisms contribute to eating disorders. Identifying the link between neurobiological mechanisms and behavior, and relating these to their possible disorders, will provide an important starting point for the future development of focused intervention strategies that could enable more effective regulation of food intake in the future.

Your profile

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 earlier.

We are looking for a highly motivated person with good analytical skills, as well as a clear interest in understanding the underlying genetic and biological causes of eating disorders.

You must have:

• experience in research in psychology or cognitive neuroscience, such as conducting and analyzing behavioral experiments and functional MRI studies.
• documented experience working with odorants and/or flavors, such as mixing, pipetting, and sensory measurements.
• a background in image processing and data analysis of brain imaging data
• experience with analysis packages (e.g. SPM, FSL)
• general programming skills in Python, R, and Matlab

You should be able to support your skills in scientific writing and publishing with your own article/articles published as first author.

Previous experience in eating disorder research and genetic research is a strong advantage. Since the research group is internationally oriented and communication is mainly in English, very good knowledge of English, both spoken and written, is required. Basic knowledge of Swedish is an advantage. Applicants must also demonstrate a high degree of accuracy, initiative and independence. We also attach great importance to personal suitability.

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. At Karolinska Institutet, 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

Read more about the Department of Clinical Neuroscience

Read more about the research group you will be part of

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• PhD certificate
• A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

KI applies individual and differentiated salary setting in accordance with our collective agreements RALS and RALS-T

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

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

Anställningsform: tidsbegränsad anställning | Anställningens omfattning: heltid | Antal lediga befattningar: 1 | Sysselsättningsgrad: 100% | Ort: Stockholm | Län: Stockholms län | Land: Sweden | Referensnummer: STÖD 2-3611/2026 | Kontakt: Janina Seubert , Janina Seubert , Lisa Rister Walker 0852483287, Lisa Rister Walker 0852483287, | Facklig företrädare: Robert Lindberg, SEKO , Robert Lindberg, SEKO , Yongtao Xue-Franzén, OFR/ST , Yongtao Xue-Franzén, OFR/ST , Per Hydbring, SACO , Per Hydbring, SACO , | Publicerat: 2026-09-07 | Sista ansökningsdag: 2026-09-28