Academic

Postdoc In Stat­ist­ical/Com­pu­ta­tional Ge­n­om­ics: Finland

The University of Helsinki is a leading Nordic university with a strong life science research. An international academic community with a critical outlook and a creative attitude is aiming to build a better future together.

Helsinki Institute of Life Science, HiLIFE, is a new life science institute at the University of Helsinki established in 2017 supporting high quality research across campuses and life science faculties. HiLIFE builds on existing strengths, new recruits and partnerships to create an attractive international environment for solving grand challenges in health, food, and environment. It coordinates research infrastructures in life sciences, provides research-based interdisciplinary training and supports researchers within its units and partner faculties.

The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) is an international research institute focusing on human genomics and personalised medicine at the Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) of the University of Helsinki.

FIMM integrates molecular medicine research, technology centre and biobanking infrastructures under one roof, promoting translational research in grand challenge projects, specifically, the impact of genome information from the Finnish population in personalised health and medicine, individualised cancer medicine, and digital molecular medicine. 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.

FIMM is currently seeking Postdoctoral Researcher in Statistical / Computational Genomics at the Centre of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics for a fixed-term of two years with a possibility of extension for a third year

Description: Revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying common complex diseases holds the promise of improved and targeted prediction, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Building on unique resources and an extensive track record in disease genetic studies in Finland, the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics (CoECDG), hosted at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at HiLIFE and the Faculty of Medicine, develops and applies a powerful and general strategy for comprehensive identification of risk and protective variants and leads national efforts to implement genomic findings into prevention and personalised treatment of common complex diseases.

The CoECDG is searching for outstanding postdocoral candidates to work with data-driven computational projects related to the CoE focus areas:

  1.  Tools for prediction and prevention of complex diseases
  2. Tools for personalised management of complex diseases
  3. Role of genetics in pathways through major life-course health events

The CoECDG has 10 PIs and builds on unique strengths of Finland: Europe’s largest population isolate, large-scale genomic data, decades of nationwide health register follow -up, EHR with possibility for inbuilt automated decision-support systems – and focuses on three systemic diseases (coronary artery disease, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease), neuropsychiatric disorders and addictions. The successful candidate will work closely with Assist. Prof. Matti Pirinen and interact with other research groups within CoECDG and with national and international collaborators to participate in collaborative research projects such as the FinnGen project. Much of the research at CoECDG is in collaboration with leading global genomics institutions with a possibility for research visits to, for example, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Qualification and experience: The candidate is expected to hold a doctoral degree (or are expected to finish their degree soon), preferably in statistics, statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, computer science, data science, or in a related field.

Salary and contract: A two-year contract is available for the position, starting in September 2019, with a possibility of extension for a third year. The salary will be based on level 5 of the University salary system for teaching and research personnel and includes a salary component based on personal performance depending on the credentials, previous experience and performance of the postdoctoral researcher.

How to apply: The application should include (i) CV, (ii) a publication list, (iii) a one-page statement of research interests and motivation for applying for this position, (iv) a one-page description of the candidate’s main achievements so far and (v) contact information of two reference persons who have agreed to provide a written statement on behalf of the applicant.

Please submit your application, together with the attachments, as a single pdf file, 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) must submit their applications through the SAP HR portal. Apply at the latest on August 16th 2019.

For further information about the position, please visit our website at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/centre-of-excellence-in-comple… or our research group websites or contact Assist. Prof. Matti Pirinen (matti.pirinen(at)helsinki.fi). For the potential correspondence, please use the following topic in your subject field “CoECDG OPEN POSTDOC POSITION”

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