Assistant Professor in Machine Learning, with specialisation in applications in life sciences

Published: 2022-12-13

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 54,000 students, more than 7,500 employees and a turnover of around SEK 8 billion.

Uppsala University’s tenure track system grants assistant professors the possibility to be assessed for promotion to the position as associate professor. The university provides support in various areas, such as scientific and educational development, leadership development as well as patent and innovation support.

The Department of Information Technology is situated in the newly built Ångström House 10, which contains a visualization studio, a social robot lab, a maker space and 3D printing workshop. Researchers work in all areas of IT, from designing processers, through HCI and cybersecurity, to cancer research tools and methods from numerical analysis and machine learning. Active researchers in Artificial Intelligence include Thomas Schön and David Sumpter (machine learning); Ida-Maria Sintorn and Caroline Wählby (AI and image analysis); Ginevra Castellano and Katie Winkle (social robotics); and Matteo Magnani (data science and networks).

Uppsala University’s has a long tradition of successful research – among its alumni are 16 Nobel Prize laureates, including, most recently, Svante Pääbo. The University is unique when it comes to combining IT with wider research, from life sciences to the humanities, and this collaboration is currently facilitated by AI4Research and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematics .

The IT Department currently has about 300 employees, including 120 teachers and 110 PhD students. More than 4000 students study one or more courses at the department each year and teaching staff actively develop new approaches to education.

The position is an important part of the new Beijer Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence, which is a part of the universities ambition to grow its activities within the subject of AI.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University

Description of subject area of the employment
Research into data-driven methods in least one application area in the life sciences. This includes applying and developing machine learning methods in applications at molecular, cellular, population or ecosystem levels. Examples of applications include topics ranging from precision medicine to evolution and biodiversity, and data may come from sources such as patient records, large-scale genetics, and images. The research should come from a technical viewpoint, but be grounded in applications in life science.

Duties

• Teaching, research (between which the balance is initially 30/70 teaching/research) and administration and public communication.
• Build an active group around research specialisation.The position is associated with funding for one PhD student and startup funds for travel etc.
• Teaching duties include course responsibility and course administration and supervision of second- and third-cycle students. We are looking, in particular, for candidates who can teach courses in statistical machine learning, neural networks, advanced probabilistic machine learning, reinforcement learning and are interested in developing a new course in the use of Machine Learning in the life sciences. Supervision of Masters students is an important responsibility.
• Follow developments within the subject area and the development of society in general that is important for the work at the university.

Appointment Period
The position can be held for a maximum of six years. An Assistant Professor can apply for promotion to Associate Professor. If the Assistant Professor is deemed suitable and fulfills the criteria for promotion established by the Faculty Board he/she shall be promoted to and employed as Associate Professor.

Qualifications Required

• PhD in machine learning, statistics, computational biology, biostatistics, engineering, mathematics or related area. Applicants who have obtained a PhD degree or achieved the equivalent competence in five years or less prior to the end of the application period will be given priority.
• Research Expertise and Teaching Expertise. It is necessary that the pedagogical skills, the research expertise and the professional skills are relevant to the content of the employment and the tasks that will be included in the employment.
• Applicants should have completed teacher training of relevance to operations at the University, comprising five weeks, or have acquired the equivalent knowledge. If special circumstances apply, this training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years of employment.
• Documented ability to teach in Swedish or English is a requirement unless special reasons prevail.
• Personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Assessment Criteria/Ranking of applicants that fulfil the above-mentioned qualifications required
The ranking of eligible applicants will be based primarily on research and teaching expertise, of which weight will be primarily given to research expertise.

Research Expertise comprises research merits as well as the applicant’s potential to contribute to the future development of both research and teaching. In assessing research expertise research quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. A qualitative assessment will be made of the research. In assessing research expertise special weight will be attached to research merits in technical aspects of machine learning with respect to the development and novel applications of data-driven methods in at least one area of the life sciences. Examples of applications include, but are not limited to topics ranging from precision medicine to evolution and biodiversity, and data may come from sources such as patient records, large-scale genetics, and images.

Teaching Expertise comprises educational and teaching qualifications. In assessing teaching expertise teaching quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth, must also be afforded consideration. In assessing teaching expertise special weight will be attached to merits in teaching data-driven methods with life science applications.

Collaboration Expertise is important and will be afforded consideration. Collaborative expertise is demonstrated by the ability and skill of planning, organizing and implementing interaction with the surrounding community. Popular publications, public debate and lectures are examples of forms of interaction with the surrounding community. Other examples of collaboration are patent applications, commercialization and industrial cooperation. The ability to translate knowledge sharing with the surrounding community into activities of importance to the education's development and quality is part of the collaboration expertise.

All merits must be documented in a manner that makes it possible to assess both quality and scope.

In filling this position the university aims to appoint the applicant who, following a qualitative holistic assessment of her/his competence and expertise, is judged to have the best potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties and to help advance operations.

Further information
In an overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, parental leave, part-time work relating to care of children, union assignments, military service, or the like are to be regarded as work experience.

University appointment regulations

Faculty appointment regulations

Instructions for application

For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Dave Zachariah ([email protected]) or Professor Thomas Schön ([email protected]).

About the employment: Temporary full-time position six years. Individually negotiated salary.
Fulltime, 100%. Placement: Uppsala. Starting date: As soon as possible as otherwise agreed.

Please submit your application by 7 February 2023, UFV-PA 2022/3955.

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

If you are an international candidate, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus .

Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.

Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.

Placement: Department of Information Technology

Type of employment: Full time , Permanent position

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: Seko Universitetsklubben [email protected]
ST/TCO [email protected]
Saco-rådet [email protected]

Number of reference: UFV-PA 2022/3955

Last application date: 2023-02-07

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