Postdoc in multi-omics foundation models

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen is seeking a highly motivated and talented Postdoc fellow to commence on February 1, 2025, or after agreement in the Rasmussen Group at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR), University of Copenhagen.

The Postdoc fellowship is part of the CBMR International PhD & Postdoc Program.

About Us
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) is an academic research Center that pioneer’s groundbreaking research towards better cardiometabolic health. Through collaborative interdisciplinary research from single-cell genomics to whole-body systems, CBMR aims to transform the basic understanding of cardiometabolic health and accelerate its translation into prevention and treatment strategies. The Center’s uniquely multi- and interdisciplinary approach combines research in genetics, physiology and pharma­cology, to better understand the complex interplay of the many factors that drive cardiometabolic disease. You can learn more in the Executive Summary of CBMR's Strategy 2024–2028.

CBMR was established in 2010 at the Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences and has been located in the Maersk Tower at PANUM since 2017. The around 260 employees create an international, highly collaborative research environment across disciplines.

Our Research
The Rasmussen Lab focuses on development and application of computational algorithms such as machine and deep learning for analysis and integration of multi-omics and multi-modal data within cardiometabolic disease. We develop supervised, un-supervised, self-supervised and generative models to learn across multiple types of data rather than treating each data modality in isolation. We have a high focus on collaboration with national and international partners and thrive in interdisciplinary projects. In the group we organize ourselves around smaller teams with common goals and have an inclusive atmosphere. We encourage diversity across all parameters.

Job Description
The aim of the postdoc project is to develop patient level multi-modal foundation models for studying cardiometabolic disease. Using data from large international biobanks, such as UKB, All of Us and Project 10K, you will take part in developing and training state of the art deep learning-based foundation models. These will be based on two existing frameworks in our group, EIR (Sigurdsson et al., 2023, NAR) and MOVE (Allesøe et al., 2023, Nature Biotechnology). This includes methodologies such as neural networks, variational autoencoders, transformers and more. Besides modelling your tasks will also include interpretation of the results and dissemination through presentations and preparation of manuscripts. You will join our team aiming to improve precision health through training DL models on biobank scale molecular and health data.

Profile
The Postdoc fellowship is aimed at early-career researchers with a basic science background or clinicians who aspire to a career in academic medicine. We are particularly interested in candidates who are familiar with integrative research approaches within the broad area of basic cardiometabolic research with an application toward human pathophysiology.

Required qualifications:

• PhD in Biology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Data Science or another relevant research field.
• Excellent scientific track record in relation to career stage.
• Profound knowledge on machine learning and/or deep learning.
• Knowledge on analysis of bulk or single cell omics datasets.
• Experience in programming is strongly desirable.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and oral.

Eligibility
The Postdoc fellowships within the CBMR International PhD & Postdoc Program are open for applicants that hold a PhD degree awarded from a university outside of Denmark. The program is also open for applicants with a Danish PhD degree who can document at least 12 months of full-time research experience from outside Denmark during or after the PhD studies. The PhD degree must be obtained before February 1, 2025. You are not eligible to apply for the program if you have been employed in a postdoctoral position for more than one year at the University of Copenhagen prior to the commencement of the fellowship.

Terms of Employment
The employment as Postdoc is a full-time position for 3 years. Starting date is February 1, 2025, or after agreement.

Salary, pension and terms of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated.

Non-Danish and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions if they hold a PhD degree and have not been tax liable to Denmark for the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Professor Simon Rasmussen at [email protected]. Questions regarding the CBMR International PhD & Postdoc Program must be directed to [email protected]. For questions regarding the recruitment procedure, please contact HR at [email protected].

The University of Copenhagen International Staff Mobility office offers support and assistance to all international researchers on all issues related to moving to and settling in Denmark.

Application Procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English via the ‘Apply now’ link below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

• Cover letter expressing the motivation and previous research experience of the applicant (max. one page)
• Curriculum vitae
• Copy of the PhD degree certificate and the master’s degree certificate. In case the PhD has not yet been completed, a written statement from the supervisor is acceptable, confirming it will be obtained before February 1, 2025.
• List of publications
• References (name and contact details of at least two references)

Application Deadline: September 20, 2024, 23.59pm CET.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The Further Process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed, each applicant can comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at www.employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process.

The applicant will be assessed according to Ministerial Order No. 242 of March 13, 2012, on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their personal backgrounds.