Post-Doctoral Fellow

Job Summary:

The Gao Lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus welcomes applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow.

Dr. Gao's lab is at the forefront of advancing language technologies to enhance real-world applications, particularly in medicine and health. By developing foundational technologies and conducting cutting-edge research in natural language processing (NLP) with innovative artificial intelligence (AI), the lab is dedicated to creating powerful tools that tackle critical healthcare challenges and integrate seamlessly into healthcare systems. We are seeking passionate individuals who are driven to significantly impact the field through groundbreaking research and inventive solutions.

Responsibilities also include contributing to the ideation and design of new studies, managing data cleaning and wrangling efforts, and preparing scientific communications such as abstracts, oral and poster presentations, scientific manuscripts, and research grant proposals. The projects within the lab aim to transform healthcare through AI by improving the accuracy and efficiency of medical diagnostics and patient care documentation processes.

The postdoc and PI will jointly envision projects tailored to the fellow’s skillset and long-term career goals. Postdocs will be expected to carry out computational research, analyze data, and disseminate their findings, software, and data to the biomedical community. The postdoc will also join a highly interactive, supportive, and interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff scientists, postdoctoral fellows, engineers, and students in Department for Biomedical Informatics. They will enjoy access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

The Department of Biomedical Informatics fosters a thriving community of researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who are inventing and deploying advanced analytics and knowledge integration approaches. The goal of building this community is to make the Anschutz Medical Campus a leader in translating data into advances in research practice, health care delivery, and population health and in scaling these to provide nationwide benefit through innovative technologies.

Key Responsibilities:

Research (65%)

• Investigate literatures to identify existing solutions and the problem
• Develop and apply state-of-the-art natural language processing algorithms and models to multimodal data (unstructured and structured text, knowledge graph, etc)
• Design and conduct experiments to test hypotheses with applied statistics
• Analyze and interpret results, present research progress to meetings with PIs, and publish results to peer-reviewed manuscripts in conference proceedings and journals 
•         Assist PI with grant writing 

Communication (15%)

• Present research progress at lab meeting and project meetings with collaborators
• Prepare abstract/manuscripts for journal and conference paper submission, present at the local and international conferences.

Mentoring and collaboration (10%)

• Mentor and train other group members, such as graduate and undergraduate students.
• Pursue computational, experimental, and clinical collaborations. 

Career development (5%)

• Work with the PI to develop and progress the candidate’s career goals.
• Attend career development seminars and networking events. 

Administrative Duties (5%)

• Complete required research training.
• Perform general administrative duties as requested by the PI. 

Work Location:

Hybrid – this role is eligible for a hybrid schedule of 3 days per week on campus and as needed for in-person meetings.  

Why Join Us:

The Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), located in the magnificent new Health Science building with a fabulous view of the Rocky Mountains, provides a fantastic environment for trainees to thrive and pursue their career goals. DBMI has a dedicated team for Grants Development and Scientific Writing, and a Software Engineering Team that can provide invaluable feedback to improve the quality of your code and your programming skills.

The Gao Lab at DBMI provides a dynamic and innovative environment where cutting-edge NLP and AI research meets practical medical applications. Collaborate daily with medical doctors and other healthcare professionals to develop solutions that have immediate and tangible effects on patient care. As the largest academic health sciences campus in the Rocky Mountain region, CU Anschutz encompasses six health professional schools, over 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked partner hospitals. This vibrant department offers unique opportunities for growth, collaboration, and impact. Our location not only provides unprecedented access to urban amenities and cultural experiences in Denver but also places you minutes away from some of the nation’s best outdoor activities, including hiking in the Rocky Mountains and skiing in Vail and Aspen. 

The PI is committed to supporting the candidate’s research progress and career development, including exploring new project areas and collaborations. With her experience in grant-writing to transition to an independent position in academia (NIH K99/R00), the PI will provide guidance and feedback into this direction if aligned with the candidate’s goals. The Gao Lab also provides numerous opportunity for national and international collaborations with researchers across the field of NLP, AI, Human Computer Interaction, Biomedical Informatics, Medicine, and Education.

The University of Colorado offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance, life insurance, retirement plans, tuition benefits, ECO pass, paid time off – vacation, sick, and holidays and more. To see what benefits are available, please visit: https://www.cu.edu/employee-services/benefits-wellness .

Diversity and Equity:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse student body, faculty and administrative staff. The university strives to promote a culture of inclusiveness, respect, communication and understanding. We encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons within the LGBTQ+ community and all veterans. The University of Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:  

Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.  

• PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computational Linguistics, Machine learning, Biomedical Informatics or related fields 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in developing and training NLP/deep learning models on GPUs (with framework such as PyTorch, tensorflow)
• Experience performing large-scale data analysis, such as data-wrangling, statistics, or machine learning.
• Demonstrated experience with NLP state-of-the-art models (Llama, Mistral, GPT-4, BERT etc)
• Publications on workshop, conferences, and journals in NLP/AI such as ACL, EMNLP, COLING, AAAI 
• Experience with high-performance computing environments or cloud computing.
• Experience with biomedical dataset and electronic health record is preferred, but not a must 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated commitment to promoting inclusion in the workplace.
• Proficiency in scientific communication as evidenced by peer-reviewed conference proceedings (journals) manuscripts and presentations at national or international conferences. 

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please submit the following document(s):

1.    A letter of interest describing relevant job experiences as they relate to listed job qualifications and interest in the position

2.    Curriculum vitae / Resume

3.    Five professional references including name, address, phone number (mobile number if appropriate), and email address

Applications are accepted electronically ONLY at www.cu.edu/cu-careers .

Questions should be directed to: Michelle Fiandra, [email protected]

Screening of Applications Begins:

Immediately and continues until position is filled. For best consideration, apply by July 1, 2024.

Anticipated Pay Range:

The starting salary range (or hiring range ) for this position has been established as HIRING RANGE:

$70,000, which is above the current NIH salary range.

The above salary range (or hiring range ) represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. This position is not eligible for overtime compensation unless it is non-exempt.

Your total compensation goes beyond the number on your paycheck. The University of Colorado provides generous leave, health plans and retirement contributions that add to your bottom line.

Total Compensation Calculator: http://www.cu.edu/node/153125

ADA Statement:

The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the employment application process. To request an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Human Resources ADA Coordinator at [email protected] ​.

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct background investigations for all prospective employees.

Vaccination Statement:

CU Anschutz strongly encourages vaccination against the COVID-19 virus and other vaccine preventable diseases . If you work, visit, or volunteer in healthcare facilities or clinics operated by our affiliated hospital or clinical partners or by CU Anschutz, you will be required to comply with the vaccination and medical surveillance policies of the facilities or clinics where you work, visit, or volunteer, respectively. In addition, if you work in certain research areas or perform certain safety sensitive job duties, you must enroll in the occupational health medical surveillance program .