The overall vision of NCMM is to improve the molecular understanding of health and disease to facilitate improved medical practice.

NCMM invites outstanding early-stage Group Leaders through international calls. Group Leaders are selected using the quality criteria and process of assessment as for recruitment to EMBL Group Leader positions (please visit the vacancy advertisement on jobbnorge.no for further details). Current approaches and model systems at NCMM include computational biology and bioinformatics, cell biology, genomics, neurobiology, immunology, rare diseases, stem cells, structural biology, and chemical biology as well as the zebra fish model system. Furthermore, researchers at NCMM have access to state-of-the art computing environments and drug screening instruments. To support our translational research, we also actively collaborate with local hospitals and with the research environment nationally and internationally, translating our knowledge from bench to bedside. See the NCMM website for more information and fit with research profiles of existing NCMM research groups. Nordic EMBL Molecular Medicine Partnership node NCMM is seeking new outstanding group leader candidates.

Group Leader position with start-up package in machine learning applied to fundamental questions in biology

NCMM expects to recruit 1-2 new principal investigators within the field of machine learning through this call.

The position(s) will be under NCMM’s precision medicine umbrella, and we are therefore in particular seeking future scientific leaders in machine learning tackling fundamental biological questions with potential for applications to precision medicine. Precision medicine as well as machine learning/AI is currently being strengthened in Norway and there is a strong desire to closely integrate and coordinate basic and clinical research activities, including NCMM. The Centre is not aiming to establish completely new research areas but aims to strengthen already existing areas at NCMM and is now especially looking for candidates with a solid background in machine learning to complement ongoing research on rare diseases (immunology, hematology, neurology), cancer, and age-related diseases.

The group leader will be selected using the quality criteria and process of assessment as for recruitment to EMBL Group Leader positions with the focus on scientific excellence and potential to collaborate with existing NCMM group leaders. The successful candidate is expected to initiate a new independent research program with a clear relevance to molecular medicine and disease mechanisms. The research should consolidate existing research within the Centre (see website). The group leader position may be combined with an adjunct position (20%) at Oslo University Hospital, Akershus University Hospital or another national university hospital to facilitate translation and clinical collaboration. An affiliation to another relevant UiO department will also be supported. Furthermore, we expect multi-disciplinary research collaborations with other NCMM research groups and NCMM Associate Investigators, with the internationally recognized biomedical and medical research environment in Oslo as well as with other top Norwegian scientists and within the Nordic EMBL Partnership for molecular medicine.

NCMM enjoys strong links to other life science activities at UiO, including the Oslo Centre for Bioinformatics with its strong research groups within machine learning and AI, the Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology (OCBE) which covers all aspects of biostatistics, and various other research groups strongly involved in life science research. UiO also benefits from its secure HPC services for sensitive data and ELIXIR life science infrastructure support. In addition, there are close ties to Oslo University Hospital, a large university hospital that hosts some of the strongest research environments in Norway within health and the life sciences.

NCMM provides attractive sustainable support packages for new group leaders of approx. 1.8 million EUR over the first five-year period. This includes salaries of the group leader, a postdoctoral fellow, a doctoral student as well as a technician (total 4 positions), consumables and modern laboratory facilities. The candidates are expected to complement this budget through other national and / or international grants and / or through industrial collaborations. NCMM scientists will be supported by excellent in-house research infrastructures and have access to the local research community’s infrastructures (see technology platforms at University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital), national infrastructures and international capabilities provided by EMBL.

Qualification requirements

• A PhD or equivalent degree
• Appropriate postdoctoral training
• Experience with supervision and a track record of significant impact to the research field (high-impact publications and/or computational methods)
• Considerable weight will be put on the research plan proposed by the candidate and on how this will integrate and synergize with the activity of other NCMM investigators and potential collaborators in both the Oslo region or nationally

How to apply

• Applications should include a cover letter summarizing the applicant’s career, past research accomplishments, future plans and fit with the NCMM research profile as well as with the current research groups at the Centre (max 1-2 pages), CV and a list of publications (with 5 most significant publications indicated), a short research plan (max 5 pages) with a summary of expected translational, medical or public health impact and names of three references.

• Experience in health data and/or clinical collaborations will be considered an advantage, and we encourage both international and Norwegian applicants. The University of Oslo is an equal opportunity employer and female and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. Staff that the applicant would like to bring to NCMM as part of their group should also be named in the application.

• The top-ranked candidates will be invited to present their research in a talk and an interview, and can be asked to provide a more detailed research plan as well as Letters of Reference. An International Selection Committee will evaluate the candidates and their research proposals. Identification of and meetings with potential local collaborators will also be organized by NCMM. The candidate may be nominated mid-2022 with an anticipated starting date in late 2022 or early 2023.

To learn more about the position in detail and to apply, please visit jobbnorge.no.