Research Fellows (University Researcher) and/or Postdoctoral Researchers for research action Sustainable Wellbeing Across Lifespan (SWAN)

The Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Science and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, invite applications for

TWO POSITIONS OF RESEARCH FELLOW (UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER) AND/OR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

for a fixed-term appointment of 4 years in total. The starting date is as agreed, typically between August and December 2025.  

The research action Sustainable Wellbeing Across Lifespan (SWAN) brings together expertise from the fields of medicine, life sciences, social sciences as well as computer and computational sciences to promote scientific and societal impact. We provide mechanistic, individualized, preventive and multidisciplinary knowledge on a topic that is a global threat to societies: shortened health span and an aging population. Delaying age-related diseases is a state of will among the population and thus a key topic for decision-makers.

SWAN conducts cutting-edge research to promote health span by identifying individual risks and susceptibilities. SWAN aims to clarify mechanisms of degeneration across the lifespan and to explore new approaches to detecting, monitoring and treating remodeled metabolism associated with ageing. In addition to biomedical approaches, SWAN will seek to identify factors that facilitate or hinder the use of personalized health information in the society and explores the potential environmental, health and economic impacts of the introduction of such personalized information.

A strategic emphasis on data and AI supports reaching these aims.

SWAN promotes also the commercialization of the key results, and the results will be incorporated into economic and policy-decision making.

SWAN is led by the Faculty of Medicine and includes the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences of the University of Helsinki, as well as the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Faculty of Social Sciences and the Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE).

The Faculty of Medicine, FIMM, and the Faculty of Science are looking for two researchers at the intersection of artificial intelligence, molecular medicine and health data science. There are two positions, whose profiles support one another. The selected candidates will contribute to SWAN’s AI strategy by conducting independent and collaborative research and support the strategic focus on the use of AI in scientific research across the different faculties and research units.

The candidates are expected to carry out their own research within the scope, typically working in collaboration with existing research groups at the university. In addition, all recruited personnel will be part of a joint “AI Virtual Lab” activity for supporting use of AI in scientific research, as university-wide mechanism for driving the AI transformation.

The selected candidates are expected to engage in:  

• Joint planning and execution of research on the metabolic mechanisms of aging and population health. The key profile in one of the two positions is to focus on metabolic mechanisms of aging-related degeneration. The profile of the other position focuses on integrating human genetics and AI for population health. For example, in this position the candidate may work on foundation models that combine molecular data and electronic health records.    
• Working as part of the group of AI researchers in the AI Virtual Laboratory.  
• Educational activities relating to molecular metabolism, human genetics, biomedicine and AI for population health.  
• Broader communication with the scientists in their general application domain, working together with them to establish practices in the use of AI in their domain.
• Interaction with various support services, e.g. research software engineers.

Qualifications

An ideal applicant has:  

1. A doctoral degree in a suitable field for the work to be carried out. Research experience after completing the doctoral degree is expected.
2. Scientific competence in developing artificial intelligence methods, with proven publication record in scientific venues in the field, as well as programming skills. Publications in top-tier AI and NLP venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, JMLR, ACL, EMNLP, TACL) are considered a significant merit.
3. Scientific interest and contributions in molecular metabolism or biomedicine, including the analysis of large-scale structured or unstructured health or biological data, such as electronic health records or biobank datasets, again ideally with publications appearing in top-tier venues (e.g., Cell, Cell Metab, Nature, Nat Genet, Nat Med, Nat Commun, Science, Sci Adv). Applicants with publications in a closely related field, but not exactly within the scope of the position, are asked to describe why their background is suitable for the position.  
4. Own scientific research interest in AI and/or the application domain. The scope of the methodological research is not specified by the call, but the candidates are expected to explain their own research interests and relate them to the specific topic of each position.  
5. Vision of what the role of AI is in the given application domain and an outline of planned research relating specifically to the use of AI in scientific research, for instance development of AI methods for commonly recurring tasks in the field, human-AI collaboration in scientific research, or development of open-source tools for AI4Science.
6. Teaching skills.
7. For Research Fellows (University Researchers), the ideal applicant has (in addition to the above listed requirements):
   A. Demonstration of other scholarly activity, such as evidence of independent research activity, the ability to lead a research group, activities in Finnish or international research groups or networks, and experience in the acquisition of research funding.
   B. Evidence of public engagement.

 
What we offer

The University of Helsinki offers the appointee a first-class research and teaching environment as well as the conditions required for international cooperation (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki). In addition, the university offers its employees comprehensive services, including occupational health care and health insurance, unemployment and pension fund, a generous holiday package, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development.

There are two positions available, both of which can be applied for at two different career levels. The salary will be based for Postdoctoral Researcher on level 5 and for Research Fellow (University Researcher) on level 6 (7) of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research staff in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance. The appointee’s gross annual salary will, in practice, for Postdoctoral Researcher range from €42,000 to €49,000 and for Research Fellow (University Researcher) range from €54,000 to €64,000, depending on their previous experience and qualifications. The positions include a six-month trial period.

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and fitness services as well as professional development opportunities (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki/staff-benefits).

International staff are supported in relocating to Finland (https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/node/350).

Application instructions

Applications must be accompanied by PDF files containing the following documents:

• A curriculum vitae and doctoral degree certificate.
• List of publications.
• An accompanying letter specifying which position you apply to (Research Fellow or Postdoctoral Researcher) and addressing the qualification points 1-6(7) above.  
• Names of two persons willing to provide a reference on requests (2).

Other attachments, such as letters of recommendation or other certificates, are not required at this point.

 
Candidates from outside the University must apply through the University’s recruitment system by clicking on ‘Apply now‘.

Candidates with a helsinki.fi user account and a valid employment contract or a contract for grant-funded researchers, visiting researchers or visiting professors at the University of Helsinki must apply by clicking on ‘Employee login‘.

The closing date for applications is 5 June 2025 at 23.59 (local Helsinki time).

The University of Helsinki is committed to promoting equality and preventing discrimination in all its operations. We welcome applicants from a variety of gender identities, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Further information about the position is available from the SWAN director, Professor Anu Wartiovaara (anu.wartiovaara(at)helsinki.fi), from Professor Samuli Ripatti (samuli.ripatti(at)helsinki.fi) at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), from Professor Ilpo Vattulainen at the Faculty of Science (biophysics) (ilpo.vattulainen(at)helsinki.fi), from Associate Professor Arto Klami at the Faculty of Science (computer science) (arto.klami(at)helsinki.fi) and about the recruitment process from HR Specialists Päivi Sinisalo (paivi.sinisalo(at)helsinki.fi) and Jussi Hartikainen (jussi.a.hartikainen(at)helsinki.fi).