Early Stage Researcher (Bioinformatics / Toxicogenomics and Machine Learning) – Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland
14.4.2020| The University of Eastern Finland, UEF, is one of the largest multidisciplinary universities in Finland. We offer education in nearly one hundred major subjects, and are home to approximately 15,500 students and 2,500 members of staff. We operate in Joensuu and Kuopio. In international rankings, we are ranked among the leading universities in the world. The Faculty of Health Sciences operates at the Kuopio Campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The Faculty offers education in medicine, dentistry, nutrition and pharmacy, as well as in some other central fields of the health care sector. The Faculty is research-intensive, and its internationally recognised research activities are closely linked to the strategic research areas of the University. There are approximately 2 500 degree students and about 450 PhD students in the Faculty. The faculty has 680 staff members. http://www.uef.fi/en/ttdk/etusivu We are now inviting applications for an Early Stage Researcher (Bioinformatics / Toxicogenomics and Machine Learning) position, School of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Kuopio Campus (extended application period) A doctoral student position is available in the research group led by Assistant Professor Vittorio Fortino in the Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences (UEF) in Kuopio. Applicants with a background in bioinformatics analysis of next-generation sequencing and microarray data, and data analytics are encouraged to apply. The research position is filled research oriented and it is filled in the EU H2020 project EDCMET (No 825762), which aims to develop in silico, in vitro and in vivo methods assessing the metabolic effects of endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) http://www.uef.fi/en/web/edcmet. The candidate will learn how to use toxicogenomic data, gene network analysis and machine learning (ML) methods for understanding and predicting compound (or drug) toxicity. Toxicogenomics utilizes high throughput technologies to generate sufficiently large data sets that can be used to assess/study the state of a biological system after a chemical/toxicant exposure. Biological measurement of compound activity in different cell lines and organs offered by various omics data types (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics) is complementary to the structure-based viewpoint of compounds in drug development, and thus can be a valuable tool in assessing potential toxicity. However, the use in combination of molecular network analysis and machine learning techniques for understanding and/or predicting toxicity of compounds, and in particular drugs, has not yet been fully exploited. The candidate will develop bioinformatics pipelines to analyze transcriptomic (microarray and RNA-seq) data, to model the mechanism of action of compounds in terms of molecular networks and pathway analysis, to train and validate machine learning based methods enabling prediction of chemical toxicity for drug design. A person to be appointed as an early stage researcher shall be qualified to pursue postgraduate studies, i.e. he or she is required to have completed a suitable higher university degree or an equivalent education abroad which in the country in question would qualify the person for similar academic studies. Positions of early stage researchers shall always be filled for a fixed term (UEF University Regulations, Section 31). Good command of the English language is required. The position is initially filled for a fixed term of two years. The full-time position will start in June 2020, or later by agreement. The position will be filled for fixed term due to the duration of the project. The salary of the position is determined in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities and is based on levels 2-4 of the job requirement level chart for teaching and research staff (€2,033.29 – 2,535.20/month). In addition to the job requirement component, the salary includes a personal performance component, which may be a maximum of 50 % of the job requirement component. For further information on the position, please contact: Dr Vittorio Fortino, email: vittorio.fortino@uef.fi, phone +358 29 445 4197. For further information on the application procedure, please contact: HR Secretary Tellervo Rajanto, email: tellervo.rajanto@uef.fi, phone +358 29 445 4278. A probationary period is applied to all new members of the staff. The electronic application should contain the following appendices: – a résumé or CV – a list of publications – motivation letter – copies of the applicant’s academic degree certificates/ diplomas, and copies of certificates / diplomas relating to the applicant’s language proficiency, if not indicated in the academic degree certificates/diplomas – contact information of two references, reference letters The application needs to be submitted no later than April 20, 2020 (by 24.00 hours Finnish time) by using the electronic application form. |