JOB OFFER POSTDOC
THE CENTER FOR THE INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY OF GERONTOLOGY AND VULNERABILITY
ANNOUNCES AN 80% POST-DOC POSITION IN INTERDISCIPLINARY LIFE COURSE RESEARCH
FUNDED BY THE SWISS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (SNSF)
The Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability (CIGEV) of the University of
Geneva offers a Post-Doc position in the field of interdisciplinary life course research. The Post-Doc will
be part of the research project entitled “Individual pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation - a fine-
grained lifespan perspective” funded by the SNSF and directed by Dr. Andreas Ihle (see project
summary on next page). This interdisciplinary project with its high methodological profile will be the
perfect next step for advancing the Post-Doc’s career with respect to skills in sophisticated longitudinal
analytical approaches and ambitious publication output.
Job description
The main aim of this position will be to prepare and conduct advanced modeling techniques such as
sequence analyses, latent transition analyses, multilevel growth curve models, and dynamic structural
equation modeling approaches using large-scale longitudinal interdisciplinary datasets. For the different
analysis projects, the Post-Doc will write scientific articles as lead author for international peer-reviewed
journals. Moreover, the Post-Doc will present the results on international conferences.
Requirements
The ideal candidate holds a PhD in Psychology, Sociology, Socioeconomics, or Demography (or has an
equivalent degree), with strong quantitative skills and a research experience in interdisciplinary life
course research. S/he is well-experienced in applying quantitative methods, namely longitudinal data
analyses and in handling large datasets. S/he is fluent in English with good scientific communication
skills (oral and written). Furthermore, s/he is highly motivated to target ambitious goals and has excellent
team work and research management skills.
Application
The application (motivation letter, detailed CV, full list of publications and pdf files of all publications as
first author, copy of PhD certificate, and letter of recommendation from PhD supervisor / prior employers)
should be addressed per email to Dr. Andreas Ihle (Andreas.Ihle@unige.ch).
Contract duration: 22 months
Start date: 1st of February 2020
Percentage: 80%
Salary: According to the usual scale used by the University of Geneva
Location: University of Geneva, CIGEV
Deadline for application: 30th of November 2019
Information: Dr. Andreas Ihle (Andreas.Ihle@unige.ch)
JOB OFFER POSTDOC
INDIVIDUAL PATHWAYS OF COGNITIVE RESERVE ACCUMULATION - A FINE-GRAINED
LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE
Project summary
The demographic changes, with more and more adults attaining older ages, but, at the same time, also
an increase of people suffering from cognitive impairments and thereby diminished well-being in
advanced age constitute one of the biggest challenges in this century for our society. With respect to the
preservation of cognitive functioning, the cognitive reserve concept (Stern, 2002, 2017) postulates that
early and lifelong experiences, including educational and occupational attainment, and leisure activities
throughout the lifespan, promote cognitive health in old age. Yet, research addressing different aspects
of inter-individual difference characteristics as potential moderators in the lifelong accumulation of
cognitive reserve is still in its infancy. It is indispensable to take up a fine-grained lifespan perspective to
understand in depth the interplay of the detailed pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation in different
domains during the entire lifespan with the multifarious idiosyncratic life events and the contextual
environments in the different life phases during the individual’s history. To address this fundamental
open issue in cognitive aging research, in three subprojects this research project will exploit available
large-scale longitudinal interdisciplinary datasets using advanced modeling techniques such as
sequence analyses, latent transition analyses, multilevel growth curve models, and dynamic structural
equation modeling approaches. Specifically, in subproject A we will investigate inter-individual
differences in the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation over the entire lifespan from early
childhood to very old age. The specific focus is to disentangle the differential contributions of different
domains of stimulation (education, non-formal intellectual activities, physical activities, and social
activities) from the different life phases of cognitive reserve build-up (early and late childhood,
adolescence, young adulthood, early and late midlife, late and very late adulthood). In subproject B we
will examine how idiosyncratic non-normative life event periods in the individual’s life history influence in
detail the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation. A detailed focus will be taken on differential
effects depending on the specific life phase in which the respective event period might affect individual
trajectories. In subproject C we will investigate how contextual factors, such as demographic, economic,
and societal characteristics of the surrounding environments in which an individual grew up and spent
his or her adulthood, influence in detail the pathways of cognitive reserve accumulation. A special focus
will be given on differential effects depending on the contextual level (country versus federal state /
region versus neighborhood) and depending on the specific life phase in which the respective
environment might affect individual trajectories. In all three subprojects we will investigate how in detail
these differential patterns of the individual’s cognitive reserve accumulation pathways influence the
subsequent aging trajectories in cognitive functioning and well-being in old age. The present
interdisciplinary proposal has enormous conceptual significance as it will help to refine current models of
cognitive reserve in particular and gerontological research in general. Moreover, as the present project
will help to better understand the multifaceted mechanisms throughout the individual’s life underlying
inter-individual differences in the fine-grained aging trajectories in cognitive health and well-being, it will
be of highest significance for social prevention policies and may lay the ground for designing evidence-
based intervention programs for our aging populations.