Doctoral Researcher/Postdoctoral Researcher in Clinical Research for Precision Medicine
About this role
Mikko Niemi's research group at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki invites applications for the position of a
DOCTORAL RESEARCHER / POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
to work in the SPOCK project, starting as soon as possible or agreed. The employment is fixed term and ends on 31.12.2028.
Summary of the project and research group descriptions
The position is part of the SPOCK (Stroke Pharmaco-Omics Consortium) project, a major European research initiative coordinated by the University of Helsinki and led by Professor Mikko Niemi. The project is funded under the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) / Horizon Europe framework and brings together leading academic institutions, healthcare providers, and industrial partners across Europe.
SPOCK aims to advance personalised stroke care by evaluating and implementing genotype-guided pharmacotherapy for patients with ischaemic non-cardioembolic stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA). The project addresses a key limitation of current stroke treatment: individual genetic differences can significantly influence the effectiveness and safety of commonly used antiplatelet and statin therapies, yet this variability is not taken into account in routine clinical practice.
Central to the project is a large multicentre, randomised clinical trial enrolling approximately 2,250 patients in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain. The trial investigates whether genotype-guided treatment strategies can reduce recurrent cardiovascular events while minimising adverse drug reactions, compared to standard-of-care treatment. In addition, the project includes biomarker discovery, methodological development, and harmonisation of pharmacogenomic data reporting and integration into electronic health record systems.
Mikko Niemi's research group at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, statistics, and data scie