Doctoral researcher in generative AI for population health

The Machine Learning for Health team in the Data Science and Genetic Epidemiology Lab at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, is currently seeking a highly-motivated doctoral researcher to join our interdisciplinary team. 
 

Project overview
 

We develop and apply advanced machine models to analyze health data from national databases in Europe. Utilizing architectures like the transformer neural network, these AI systems predict future health events and adapt to various healthcare tasks, aiming at more accurate prediction of progression of diseases like cancer, or estimation of future healthcare costs, useful in public health planning. We utilize large datasets from real patient records and registries e.g. from Finland (7 million people) and France (16 million people), and integrate different data modalities ranging from medication purchases to laboratory measurements and multi-omics. With the aid of such comprehensive data, it is possible to train more accurate models for minority groups and individuals suffering from rare diseases. We seek to make health data machine learning models more versatile, and improve privacy safeguards, advancing public health and healthcare innovation.
 

Key responsibilities

•    Design, implement and benchmark machine learning models for large-scale health datasets comprising of diverse information including structured medical history, demographics, clinical notes, laboratory measurements, omics and genetics
•    Collaborate closely with other team members and international collaborators, e.g. assist other team members in experiment planning, data processing and interpretation of results
•    Contribute to writing scientific articles, and grant applications, present your work in international scientific conferences
•    Take part in open science and collaborative development
 

Skills, expertise and qualifications

•    A Master’s degree in computational biology, computer science, data science, bioinformatics, or a related discipline
•    Demonstrated machine learning experience, experience working with health data is a plus but not a requirement
•    Proficiency in Python and experience working in Linux-based HPC environments or cloud computing platforms
•    Proven experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow is highly desirable
•    Familiarity with multimodal data fusion/integration is highly desirable
•    Ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively in interdisciplinary and international research teams
•    Excellent command of spoken and written English
 

Research group 

 
The Machine Learning for Health team focuses on applying artificial intelligence to derive meaningful insights from large, real-world health and biomedical datasets. The team is led by Dr. Tuomo Hartonen, and is part of the international and interdisciplinary Data Science and Genetic Epidemiology Lab, led by Dr. Andrea Ganna. We have active collaborations with leading researchers in the EU, UK and US, with opportunities for international research visits during the doctoral studies. We work with diverse international datasets ranging from Finnish and French national health registries to biobank studies such as FinnGen (Finland), UK Biobank (UK) and All of Us (United States).
 

Contract and salary
 

The position is for a fixed term, with a maximum duration of four years. A trial period of six months will be applied. The salary is based on the salary system of the Finnish universities. The starting salary is typically around 2600-2750 EUR per month  , depending on the appointees’ qualifications and experience, and rises gradually as the PhD work progresses. The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care, support in access to high quality sports facilities, and vast opportunities for professional development. Standard Finnish pension benefits are provided for university employees.
 

Apply at latest by September 30th, 2025. The call may be extended until a hiring decision is made.

How to apply: The application should include:

1)    A one-page letter stating the motivation for applying to this position.
2)    A CV, listing the possible scientific publications.
3)    An official copy of the transcript from studies leading to the Master’s Degree
4)    Contact information of 1-2 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number) 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 SAP Fiori https://msap.sap.helsinki.fi.
 

For further information on the position, please contact Dr. Tuomo Hartonen (tuomo.hartonen@helsinki.fi). 
 

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The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) is an international research unit focusing on human genomics and personalized 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.