Ma­chine/​Deep Learn­ing Applied to Pop­u­la­tion-Scale Health Re­cords and Ge­net­ics

The University of Helsinki is an international scientific community of 40,000 students and researchers. It is one of the leading multidisciplinary research universities and ranks among the top 100 international universities in the world.

The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) is an international research unit focusing on human genomics and personalised medicine at the Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) of the University of Helsinki - a leading Nordic university with a strong commitment to life science research. As part of Academic Medical Center Helsinki in Meilahti campus FIMM collaborates locally with the Faculty of Medicine, Helsinki University Hospital and National Institute for Health and Welfare. FIMM is part of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, composed of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the centres for molecular medicine in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and the EU-LIFE Community.

FIMM is currently seeking

Postdoctoral Researcher in machine/deep learning applied to population-scale health records and genetics

The Data Science and Genetic Epidemiology Lab (https://www.dsgelab.org/) lead by Dr. Andrea Ganna is interested in the development or application of methods to early identify common preventable diseases. In our group, we integrate electronic health records, image data and genetic information from large biobank-based studies (e.g. https://www.finngen.fi/en). Our team includes experts in machine learning, human genetics and epidemiology, and and we have recently launched the COVID19 Host Genetic Initiative (https://www.covid19hg.org/), to study the genetic determinants of COVID19 severity.

Our lab is based at FIMM and at Massachussets General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and affilitated with the Broad Institute. The candidate would be able to work periodically in both locations, if necessary. FIMM also provides excellent training opportunities for postdoctoral researchers through the FIMMPOD postdoctoral program.

Qualification and requirements: We are looking for future research leaders to work with an unprecedented amount of health information (diagnoses, medications, socio/demographic information, image data, etc..) from millions of individuals in combination with biobank-based genetic data to develop and pilot cutting edge approaches for predicting complex diseases and generating synthetic health data. The successful candidate should prove a solid understanding of generative models, differential privacy techniques, and longitudinal data analysis from a biostatistical and/or machine/deep learning (i.e. recurrent neural networks, transformer models) perspective. Understanding of epidemiological design and measures is considered a plus.

The candidate should hold a Ph.D. in the field of machine learning, statistics/mathematics, computational sciences, or genetic epidemiology, and preferably have a strong track record in developing and applying machine/deep learning approaches to health/genetic data. The ideal candidate shows scientific independence, has publishing experience, and an aptitude towards developing techniques. Together with the PI, he/she is jointly responsible for coordinating projects and supervising Ph.D. students.

Contract & salary: The job is for a fixed-term of 2 years with a possibility of extension for additional two years. A trial period of 6 months will be applied. The starting salary will be ca. 3300 - 3800 euros/month, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience and including a salary component based on personal performance. Standard Finnish pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for University employees.

Finland is a member of the EU, has high quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families and in the world’s top ten most livable cities. Finland and the Helsinki region possess top expertise in sciences in terms of a vibrant talent pool, leading research, strong support services and functioning collaboration networks. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/university/working-at-the-university.

Given the current COVID19 pandemic we will also consider candidates that want to work mostly remotely.

How to apply: The application should include (i) CV, (ii) a publication list, (iii) a one- page statement of research interests and motivation for applying for this position and (iv) contact information of at least two reference persons who have agreed to provide a written statement on behalf of the applicant.

To apply, please submit the application through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system by clicking on Apply for job. Internal applicants (i.e., current employees of the University of Helsinki) please submit your applications through the SAP HR portal. Please apply no later than 30 September 2020.

For further information about the position, please visit our website at https://www.dsgelab.org/ or visit https://www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-fimm or contact Andrea Ganna (aganna@broadinstitute.org). For questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR Specialist Anu Roine (anu.roine@helsinki.fi). Technical support regarding the recruitment system: rekrytointi@helsinki.fi.

Due date

30.09.2020 23:59 EEST