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Details of the postdoctoral positions
Project title
1 Postdoctoral Position on Developmental Sociogenomics
City
Berlin
Specific field of research
Human development
Max Planck Institute
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Broad field of research
Human Sciences Section
Short description of the group/project/topic of research

The Position

The Max Planck Research Group “Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities, and Development” takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the effects of social inequality on human development at multiple biological and psychological levels led by principal investigator Dr. Laurel Raffington. Biosocial research provides an important avenue of inquiry for understanding how the social environment intersects with biological processes to shape differential outcomes of education and health across the lifespan. 

The successful candidate will work with genomic and behavioral genetic methods to examine the effects of childhood environments on physical and cognitive health across the lifespan. They will leverage data from several cohorts, including analysis of genome-wide DNA-methylation in a randomized-controlled cash gift study.

Our Offer

This postdoctoral position is available from October 1, 2025 onwards (until April 30, 2029), but later start dates are possible. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development (www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de) offers an excellent research infrastructure, including support staff and equipment. It provides an international and interdisciplinary research environment, with English as the working language. The research group fosters a collaborative and inclusive work environment that is sensitive to caregiving restrictions and provides flexible work hours (e.g., home office days).

Additional information

Your Profile

Applicants should have a strong interest to work with novel genomic methods (e.g., genome-wide DNA-methylation) in association with environmental contexts and developmental psychology. Applicants should hold a PhD (or be close to completion) in psychology, economics, epidemiology or similar. Experience in the following areas is an advantage, but we do not expect you to meet them all:

  • Developmental science theories
  • Epigenetics, particularly genome-wide DNA-methylation
  • Longitudinal data analysis
  • Experience working with multiple cohort studies
  • Human genetics and genomics
  • R programming

 

Link to PI’s webpage
https://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/research/research-groups/mprg-biosocial
Requirements
Requirements

Applicants have to upload their 

  • CV (including a publication list)
  • a summary of previous research
  • and a statement of interest
Additional requirements for the application

Your Application

The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all backgrounds. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such individuals.

Applicants should submit 1) a cover letter describing research interests and their alignment to our group’s goals, research experience (including data analytic skills), 2) curriculum vitae without a photo, including 2 referees we may contact, 3) school and University transcripts, and 4) a writing sample (e.g., first-author publication, abstract of PhD thesis or ideas for future research). We kindly ask you to submit your application as a single-file pdf to raffington@mpib-berlin.mpg.de. Applications are due June 2, 2025.

The data protection declaration for the processing of personal data within the scope of your application can be found here: https://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/1589569/en_infos_bewerbung.pdf 

Contact person
Dr. Laurel Raffington
raffington@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
030824060
State
complete