Doctoral Researcher in Statistical Community Ecology

The Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Dr. Gleb Tikhonov invites applications for the position of

DOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN STATISTICAL COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

starting from September 2025, or as agreed. The Doctoral Researcher will be offered a full-time contract for the maximum duration of 4 years. There will be a trial period of six months at the beginning of employment.

Position description

The Earth's climate and ecosystems are changing rapidly, and these changes will dramatically affect the fate of humanity. However, scientific understanding of the changing biosphere is still very limited. This research project funded by research Council of Finland is focused on developing methods for statistical analysis that ecologists can use to better predict future changes in ecological communities. The particular focus is to enhance the Joint Species Distribution Modelling to meet the challenges introduced by the analysis of ecological data collected with modern technologies and artificial intelligence. The project also aims to expand this modelling framework for spatially continuous forecasting by combining information from satellite images and species communities. Methodological research is accompanied by applied ecological studies on the species data generated by the LIFEPLAN project, which surveys global diversity using DNA-, audio- and image-based methods through automated species identification over the period 2020–2026.

The PhD project will be centred around computational community ecology, with cutting-edge analyses being conducted primarily using the methodological developments achieved in this project. Additionally, the student will be encouraged to collaboratively contribute to the further development of these methods. The PhD student will be supervised by Academy Fellow Dr. Gleb Tikhonov and co-supervised by Principal Investigator of the LIFEPLAN project Prof. Otso Ovaskainen (University of Jyväskylä).

The doctoral researcher should have a master’s degree in ecology, biology, or biogeography, with a strong emphasis on computational data analysis. Alternatively, the candidate may hold a master’s degree in statistics, machine learning or related field, accompanied by prior experience working with ecological data.

The ideal candidate should have:

• Willingness to pursue a PhD degree in statistrical ecology,
• Interest in conducting research in context of biodiversity, species communities and statistical modelling,
• Solid skills in computer programming for data science (e.g. R, Python),
• Experience with real-world data analysis tasks,
• Good communication skills in English, both verbal and written.
  
  

Experience in the following areas from prior studies or work is a bonus:

• Statistical modelling, especially for multi-outcome data analysis,
• Executing computationally intensive code on HPC cluster,
• GIS and analysis of remote sensing data,
• Research on taxa belonging to the focal LIFEPLAN taxonomic groups (birds, fungi, insects).

What we offer

• A fixed term position for maximum duration of 4 years, with a 6-month trial period
• A collaborative, innovative and inclusive work environment
• Performance based salary (job demands level 2-4, in the collective-agreement for Universities), 5-7 weeks of annual leave, flexible working hours
• Occupational health care, access to high quality sports facilities and language classes
• Financial support for Finnish visa and residence permits, if required
• Facilitated networking and access to world-leading scientific expertise of LIFEPLAN principal investigators and their research groups: Prof. Otso Ovaskainen (ecological modelling), Prof. David Dunson (statistics), Prof. Tomas Roslin (ecology) and Prof. Graham Taylor (machine learning).

The University of Helsinki is an international scientific community of 40,000 students and researchers. It is considered one of the leading multidisciplinary research universities in Europe. The Viikki campus, a major bioscience hub in Europe, is home to four faculties, research institutes and core facilities.

How to apply

Please submit your application, which includes the following documents in English:

• A short cover letter describing why you are interested in this position and how you are qualified, max 1 page.
• A CV with full contact details, education degrees obtained, prior work experience, and list of publications (if any), max 2 pages.
• An example of written scientific or analytical text (e.g. Master’s thesis). If the text is not solo-authored, please detail your contribution to producing the text.
• Names and contact information of two referees, who are willing to provide reference letters upon request (optional).

Candidates are required to submit their applications via the University of Helsinki's electronic recruitment system. To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply for the position" option. Internal applicants are required to submit their applications via the SAP Fiori portal.

The position is open until August 31, 2025, or until a suitable candidate is found.

Further information

Gleb Tikhonov (gleb.tikhonov (at) helsinki.fi) will be happy to answer any questions or offer further information related to the position.