PhD Student Position in Interpretable Machine Learning for Digital Twins of Biopharmaceuticals

The Computational Systems Biology group at the University of Salzburg, led by Nikolaus Fortelny, is offering a PhD position in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. The group focuses on developing interpretable machine learning models based on prior biological knowledge to explain relationships in large biological data. The research addresses a wide range of biomedical questions, from immunity to cancer, with an emphasis on generating robust and reliable results and enabling interpretations from black-box algorithms.

Project Description:

The PhD student will be part of the DigitherapeutX consortium, a collaborative effort of multiple Austrian research groups with expertise in analytical chemistry, bioprocessing, omics profiling, and computational modeling. The consortium aims to understand the production of biological drugs (antibodies) by collecting and analyzing large datasets, including bioprocessing parameters, multi-omics data, and molecular attributes of the product. The PhD position will focus on developing computational approaches to uncover relationships between bioprocessing, multi-omics data, and drug quality parameters using algorithms from molecular modeling, data science, and machine learning. The specific goal is to make black-box models interpretable.

Employer: University of Salzburg
Location: Salzburg, Austria
Application Deadline: September 10th, 2023

Qualifications:

• M.Sc. degree in bioinformatics, biotechnology, computer science, statistics, physics, or a related field.
• Strong scientific thinking and communication skills.
• High motivation and drive.
• Proficiency in programming (Python, R, or similar).
• Experience with and interest in machine learning, statistics, and quantitative sciences.
• Basic understanding of biological concepts.
• Excellent English language and communication skills.

Details:

• Start date: As soon as possible.
• Fixed-term: 4 years.
• Salary and work hours according to Austrian funding regulations.
• Location: Salzburg, Austria.

Offer:

• Opportunity to conduct computational research in modeling biological processes relevant for industrial applications.
• Participation in cutting-edge research environment.
• Involvement in an international, interdisciplinary, and collaborative team.
• Access to various courses for both hard and soft skills development.
• Participation in conferences and project meetings.
• Excellent social benefits of working in Austria, including holidays and health insurance.
• Emphasis on maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Application:

Enthusiastic young scientists who are motivated to study and analyze biological processes using advanced computational approaches are encouraged to apply. Interested candidates should send a letter of motivation to pursue a PhD (one page), CV, and names of 2-3 reference contacts via email to [Please click the Apply button for the link or address], with the subject line “PhD position DigitherapeutX”.

Application Deadline: September 10th, 2023.

For more information about the research group, visit: Nikolaus Fortelny’s Research Group.