Postdoctoral Researcher/Cancer Data Science

Postdoctoral Researcher/Cancer Data Science

University of Helsinki - Faculty of Medicine

Helsinki, Finland

A 2.5-year postdoctoral position with flexible starting date is available in the Cancer Data Science group led by Associate Professor Mariike Kuijjer at iCAN Flagship in Digital Precision Cancer Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. The project will focus on developing approaches for gene regulatory network modeling on deconvoluted bulk data, with applications to pan-cancer data network analysis.

The advertised project focuses on extending network modeling approaches developed in the Kuijjer group to model patient- and cell type-specific gene regulatory networks based on bulk cancer data, and use this to investigate cancer type-specific and pan-cancer rewiring of gene regulatory networks in various cell types. The research will leverage a large in-house dataset from iCAN, complemented by publicly available data. These efforts aim to uncover in more detail regulatory processes contributing to cancer.

The candidate

We seek a highly motivated candidate with a track record of statistical models, network science, and/or computational tool development dedicated to the analysis of of high-throughput genomics data, comparative genomics, functional genomics, or a related field. The candidate should be excited about applying computational tools to answer questions in biology. The ideal candidate is collaborative and creative, has strong programming skills dedicated to the analysis of large-scale genomics data, and has a strong publication record. Experience with analysis of large-scale genomic data sets is a requirement for this position. Experience with data integration, machine learning, network science, cancer biology, and/or gene regulation is considered an advantage. The position is open to applicants with a PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, cancer genomics, network science, or related fields.

The appointment is a fulltime position and is made for a period of two and a half years with possible extension depending on future funding.

Qualification requirements

• PhD degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, computer science, biostatistics, cancer genomics, or a related field. Applicants with a background in biology or (bio)medicine are welcome to apply, provided they have documented expertise in computational biology;
• Proficiency in programming (such as Python, R, Bash);
• The candidate is required to have documented research experience with large-scale omics data analysis;
• Experience with high performance computing is a strong advantage;
• Knowledge of multi-modal data integration, gene regulation, cancer, and/or network biology is considered an advantage;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to develop and maintaining computational tools for biological data analysis;
• Teamwork skills and the willingness to collaborate, share ideas, and contribute to a multidisciplinary research environment that spans two Nordic countries, with active groups in both Helsinki and Oslo;
• Strong communication skills in English, with both written and verbal proficiency.

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