Postdoctoral Fellow: Blockchain-based, Secure, and Decentralized Big Data Management in HealthCare

9 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department

Department of Information Security and Communication Technology

Research Field

Computer science

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Norway

Application Deadline

26 Feb 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37,5

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description
This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here .

About the job

The Department of Information Security and Communication Technology (IIK) has a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Blockchain-based, Secure, and Decentralized Big Data Management in HealthCare.

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

The postdoctoral fellow will work on research and development within the context of the EU-funded Innovation Project “Prediction, Monitoring and Personalized Recommendations for Prevention and Relief of Dementia and Frailty (COMFORTAGE)”. COMFORTAGE is a joint effort of medical experts, social scientists and humanists, technical experts and Digital Innovation Hubs to establish a pan European framework for Community-based, Integrated and People-Centric prevention, monitoring and progression managing solutions for age-related diseases and disabilities. The project’s framework will be empowered by a unique combination and integration of: (i) Medical/clinical innovations (e.g., novel approaches to risk factor analysis and personalized prediction, AI-based medical devices, integrated data sources of age-related clinical evidence, and evidence-based Health care Technology Assessment (HTA)), (ii) Cutting edge AI innovations (e.g., explainable AI (XAI), secure AI, serious games, Patient Digital Twins, Virtual Assistive technologies) for trusted, accurate, secure and personalized clinical decision making, (iii) Digital Innovation Hubs (e.g. Smart Homes, robotics and Living Labs) to facilitate and promote research activities in the health and wellbeing domain, and (iv) social innovations for promoting innovative views and co-creating new or improved solutions for assistance and improvement of social integration and interaction. COMFORTAGE will facilitate the integration, harmonization, and management of a host of different data sources, including biobanks, cohorts, medical records, longitudinal observational studies, real-world data about patients, as well of alternative secondary data sources, such as sensors, wearables and mobiles in a standardized structure called Holistic Health Records (HHRs). The project will be carried out by a consortium comprising 39 partners from industry and research/academia from 12 European countries.

The position creates an opportunity for more collaboration with other research disciplines such as security management, safety engineering, and policymaking in addition to the focus areas mentioned above.

The position's working place is NTNU campus in Gjøvik. You will report to the Head of the Department.

Duties of the position

The postdoctoral research fellow will:

• Contribute to:
  • The definition of the technical strategies and oversights for all research and development activities throughout the lifecycle of the project. This will include requirements collection and analysis, state of the art review, architecture specification and platform integration as concerns the technical landscape of the project.
  • The definition of the overall architecture, including envisioned components’ descriptions, their relations to existing software/service/infrastructure components, and their functionality. Open interface specifications, communication patterns, expected information flows will be analysed and described. Fundamental design principles will be studied and adopted.
  • The integration of the COMFORTAGE platform and tools.
  • The specification and implementation of an identity management infrastructure (e.g., based on KeyCloak), data models and ontologies for dementia and frailty related data, as well as connectors for contributing and consuming data to/from the data space.
  • The development of the core decentralized blockchain-based infrastructure for the COMFORTAGE platform. To this end, existing permissioned blockchain infrastructures will be customized to the needs of the project with the goal to enable contribution and use of data from the blockchain through the implementation of the ledger peer nodes and clients. The latter will allow public and private healthcare care providers and policy makers to share information and state as part of COMFORTAGE through secure state synchronization techniques. The blockchain-based approach will facilitate openness, accountability and extensibility through an Open API for applications development and configuration.
  • The design and implementation of a Scalable Big Data infrastructure that will facilitate the management, integration, and consolidation of Big Data from all the different sources and devices. This Big Data infrastructure will be also the basis for the development of the IKBs of the COMFORTAGE platform, while at the same time enabling the implementation of AI analytics on top of it. The Big Data management infrastructure will be implemented on top of an existing database management product, which provides the means for integrated management and querying of diverse data sources, including relational databases, analytics databases, streaming databases and more. The Big Data infrastructure will enable the integrated management and querying of both streaming data and data at rest.
  • The specification and implementation of a framework for scoring the explainability of the different models towards comparing alternative approaches, balancing performance vs. explainability trade-offs.
• Develop and pursue own research agenda in Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.
• Contribute to the development of research and education in Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience by leading and supporting new research and innovation.
• Work on initiating, organizing, writing proposals for, coordinating, and carrying out national and international R&I projects of high quality, to be funded by national and international sources e.g. the NFR (The Research Council of Norway), and the European Commission.
• Coordinate and manage the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISaR) group  teams working on R&I projects in critical infrastructure security and resilience and other areas of interest of the group.
• Participate as an active member in CISaR activities and in activities of the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology (IIK), including supervision and co-supervision of MSc and PhD students.

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in information security, computer science, or equivalent. If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
• Track record with publications on relevant research areas in credible journals and conferences.
• Being able to attend and present at national and international forums.
• Good written and oral English language skills.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Extensive knowledge and solid understanding of blockchain technology.
• Experience in requirements collection and analysis, state of the art reviews, architecture specification and platform integration.
• Experience with integrating software components from different developers.
• Good knowledge of and experience with identity management infrastructures.
• Knowledge of AI explainability-related methods and techniques.
• Experience with supervision of MSc students’ thesis work.
• Experience with participating in EU and/or nationally funded R&I projects related to cyber security for critical infrastructure and cyber-physical systems.
• Experience with having developed research project proposals for external funding bodies such as the European Commission, Research Council of Norway, etc.

Personal characteristics

• Being able to travel frequently.
• Flexibility and willingness to work on a broad range of topics covered by the activities of the CISaR group.
• Initiative-taking and self-starter who works well with minimal supervision and shows excellent judgement about when to look to managers and teammates for guidance, and when and how to communicate with diverse stakeholders.
• Team player with a proven track record of building cross-functional relationships and ability to work in an international research team.
• Effective communication and negotiation skills, both written and verbal persuasiveness and strong influential skills.
• Eager to learn with a high desire to perform and disseminate high-quality research.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer 

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment 
• an open and inclusive work environment  with dedicated colleagues 
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund 
• employee benefits 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from NOK 594 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

The period of employment is 3 years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English (ta stilling til dette) 

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result. 

The application must include (Departments to choose from the following): 

• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items)
• Research plan
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well. 
 
Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality . 

The city of Gjøvik has a population of 30 000 and is a town known for its rich music and cultural life. The beautiful nature surrounding the city is ideal for an active outdoor life! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. 

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prof. Sokratis Katsikas, email [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Teresa Kristina Hoel, e-mail: [email protected] .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 26.02.2024. 

 

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Information Security and Communication Technology

Research is vital to the security of our society. We teach and conduct research in cyber security, information security, communications networks and networked services. Our areas of expertise include biometrics, cyber defence, cryptography, digital forensics, security in e-health and welfare technology, intelligent transportation systems and malware. The Department of Information Security and Communication Technology is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering  .

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Country

Norway

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/257970/postdoctoral-fellow-block…

Contact

City

Trondheim

Website

http://www.ntnu.no

Street

NTNU Campus Gjøvik

Postal Code

N-2815

STATUS: EXPIRED