Research fellow (University Researcher) in AI for Population Health and Genomics

The Faculty of Science and the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE at the University of Helsinki invite applications for a joint (50%:50%) position as

RESEARCH FELLOW (UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER) IN AI FOR POPULATION HEALTH AND GENOMICS

for a fixed-term appointment of maximum 4 years with starting date as soon as possible.

The position relates to the Sustainable Wellbeing Across Lifespan (SWAN) (https://www.swan-helsinkiuni.net/) research action that conducts cutting-edge research to promote health span by identifying individual risks and susceptibilities, aiming to clarify mechanisms of degeneration across the lifespan and exploring new approaches to detecting, monitoring and treating remodeled metabolism associated with ageing.

The candidate is expected to develop an independent research program within this scope, focusing on methodological innovation and the application of modern AI approaches to large-scale biomedical data. Research topics may include foundation models for longitudinal electronic health records and genomics, multimodal learning integrating health records with molecular data, causal representation learning, in-context learning and amortized inference for healthcare decision-making, and AI-assisted scientific discovery workflows.

The work will be done together with the Ganna Lab (https://www.dsgelab.org/) at FIMM and the Probabilistic Machine Learning Lab (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/probabilistic-machine-learning; groups of Acerbi and Klami) at the Department of Computer Science, aligning with concurrent projects developing foundation models for healthcare. The groups are active members of the ELLIS Institute Finland (https://www.ellisinstitute.fi/), providing opportunities for collaboration with leading researchers in artificial intelligence across Finland and Europe.

The position offers access to globally unique research resources, including nationwide longitudinal health records from Finland covering more than five billion healthcare events, FinnGen with genomic data from over 500,000 participants, and extensive multi-omics datasets including proteomics and single-cell transcriptomics. Researchers also benefit from access to world-class computing infrastructure through CSC and LUMI, one of Europe's most powerful supercomputers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The appointed researcher is expected to pursue independent research on methodological innovation in developing and applying AI methods, in collaboration with existing research groups at the university, and will have the opportunity to be part of ELLIS Institute Finland activities. They will also participate in university-wide activities advancing the use of AI in scientific research, together with other researchers working in the intersection of AI and other scientific disciplines.

The daily working activities of the appointed researcher will be split between the Faculty of Science and FIMM. Opportunities for contribution to teaching (up to 5-10% of annual working time) will be provided.

QUALIFICATIONS

We require a doctoral degree and postdoctoral research experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or computational statistics, with demonstrated interest in applications to population health and/or human genetics. Excellent communication skills in English are necessary.

The candidate needs to have

• A doctoral degree in a suitable field

• Research activity after PhD (typically 2-4 years of postdoctoral research), ideally with evidence of independent research contributions, ability to lead a research group, experience in research funding acquisition, and public engagement.

• Scientific competence in developing and/or applying artificial intelligence methods with proven publication record in scientific venues in the field. We expect publication record in top-tier venues in AI and machine learning (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, or similar) and/or publications with clear AI contributions in leading biomedical journals (e.g. Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Nature Machine Intelligence or similar).

• Personal research interest that relates to the scope and topic of the position and connects to existing research groups at the University of Helsinki.

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WHAT WE OFFER

University of Helsinki is an equal opportunity employer and offers an attractive and diverse workplace with a variety of development opportunities and benefits. The appointee’s monthly salary varies between 4800-6000€ depending on their previous experience and qualifications. The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months.

Standard Finnish pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for university employees. Further information can be obtained online. University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including sports facilities, and ample opportunities for professional development and language studies. The International Staff Services office (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/university/working-at-the-university) assists employees from abroad with their transition to work and life in Finland.

Finland is a member of the European Union, has high quality free schooling (also in English) and generous family benefits and healthcare. Finland was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families, and Helsinki in the world’s top ten most livable cities. Finland and the Helsinki region feature leading research and innovation facilities, clean environment, affordable accommodation, and excellent international, national, and local transport connections. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see the website.

The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. International staff are supported in relocating to Finland.

A diverse and equitable study and work culture is important to the University of Helsinki. That is why we do our best to promote an inclusive university community. We encourage all qualified applicants from different gender identities, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and minorities to apply for the position. You can read about the accessibility and inclusivity of our university via this link.

HOW TO APPLY

The University of Helsinki is committed to promoting equality and preventing discrimination in all its operations. We welcome applicants from a variety of genders, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and minorities.

Please submit your application, together with the required attachments, through the University of Helsinki Recruitment System via the link "Apply now" (“Hae nyt”). Use your current email address to register to the Recruitment System. Only applicants who are currently employed by the University of Helsinki are requested to submit their application via the link “Employee login”. The closing date for applications is 16 November 2026.

The following documents in English are required and must be included in the application:

1) A curriculum vitae

2) List of publications

3) An accompanying 2–5-page document covering both qualifications for the Research Fellow level, and description of the planned research.

If you are invited to an interview, you will be asked contact details of 2 referees.

Other attachments, such as letters of recommendation or other certificates, are not required at this point.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information about the positions and the research project may be obtained from Professor Arto Klami at the Faculty of Science (arto.klami(at)helsinki.fi), and from Professor Andrea Ganna at FIMM (andrea.ganna(at)helsinki.fi). Further information about the recruitment process can be obtained from recruitment(at)Helsinki.fi.