Department of Neonatology / LRF-Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth and Nutrition
PhD Position in early child development (Doctoral Program Clinical Science) 80 %
Start of employment 01.09.2025, temporaryThe Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth and Nutrition of the Newborn (LRF NGN) is an interdisciplinary research group led by Prof. Giancarlo Natalucci and based at the Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich.
Within the framework of an international collaborative research project (an EU-funded consortium) focused on the health, development, and follow-up of children born preterm, LRF-NGN intends to launch a study on the development, validation, and standardization of a questionnaire assessing child development at the age of five. This tool aims to enhance the long-term follow-up of children born preterm and provide a reliable measure that can be applied across diverse healthcare systems and cultural contexts, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, UK.
Your responsibilities
As a PhD student, your responsibilities will include:
What we offer
- Recruitment of children and maintenance of the participant panel;
- Coordinating data collection across multiple sites;
- Conducting neuropsychological testing of children;
- Analyzing longitudinal and cross-sectional psychometric data;
- Implementing validation and standardisation of the tool (questionnaire) to different languages;
- Contributing to academic publications and actively disseminating findings;
- Training and supervising junior group members (bachelor's and master's students).
What we offer
- A compelling curriculum offered by the PhD program in Clinical Sciences;
- Salary aligned with the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF);
- Mentorship from experienced post-doctoral researchers in the field;
- Access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and an interactive, supportive scientific atmosphere;
- Involvement in teaching and mentoring of research projects and MSc theses;
- Opportunities for collaboration with international (EU) research partners;
- Possibility to attend and present at international scientific conferences.
Your profile
You have gained a master's degree in medicine, psychology/neuropsychology or a related field (e.g. education) with excellent grades. You have proficient oral communication skills in Swiss-German, proficient written and oral communication skills in German, and good written and oral communication skills in English. You have strong interest in working with infants and their families as well as in research on early child development (previous experience of advantage). You provide profound statistical knowledge in modelling longitudinal data (e.g., growth curve analysis) or the willingness to acquire the necessary skills (experience in R or Mplus of advantage).
Information on your application
This position opens on 01.09.2025 (negotiable).Please send your application as one single PDF file to giancarlo.natalucci@usz.ch (i.e., cover letter with statement of motivation, transcripts of BSc and MSc grades, CV (max 2 pages), and 1 letter of support or the name and contact details of one referee) by July 31, 2025. For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. med. Giancarlo Natalucci, giancarlo.natalucci@usz.ch
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Questions about the job
Giancarlo Natalucci Chair of LRF NGN
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Working at UZH
The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!
More → https://www.uzh.ch/cmsssl/en/explore/work.html
Please apply via our job portal www.jobs.uzh.ch.
The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!
More → https://www.uzh.ch/cmsssl/en/explore/work.html
Please apply via our job portal www.jobs.uzh.ch.
Working at UZH
The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!
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