The Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology at the University of Zurich (Director Prof. Dr. Holger Moch) invites applications for Data Scientist.

Understanding the differences between healthy and diseased tissues is key for the development of new therapies. Digital pathology is a new field in medicine making morphologic information accessible at unprecedented scale for research and technology development.

We are looking for a highly ambitious and dedicated applicant with research experience in digital pathology, digital image analysis and advanced machine learning to join collaborative effort on developing a prototype pipeline scoring anti-tumoral immune cells in medical images. The long-term goal of this collaborative project with a leading pharmaceutical company is the development of a diagnostic tool to enhance and inform patient diagnosis and support clinical decisions.

The successful candidate will join the Computational and Translational Pathology Group at the University Hospital of Zurich and will successfully carry out the project work including image analysis, annotation and algorithm development tasks, build research group capacity, engage in national and international collaborations and implement AI algorithms into diagnostic practice in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of pathologists, image analysts and data scientists.

Your responsibilities

• Use innovative and comprehensive approaches to data and develop fundaments for new diagnostic tools to foster better healthcare
• Project-specific development of image analysis and machine learning algorithms for disease classification and patient stratification
• Develop and conduct own research projects based on existing histopathological image sets of immune cell populations from cancer patients
• Promote the development of digital pathology at Zurich University Hospital
• Participate in national and international collaborations involving academia and industry
• Candidates with exceptional qualifications may be granted responsibility for co-supervising MSc, PhD, or MD students on a subject related to their research.
• Scientific publications and presentations at national and international conferences are expected.

Your profile

• PhD (preferred) or MSc in computer science, engineering, bioinformatics, natural science, biomedical science, statistics, or applied mathematics
• Prior research experience of 1-2 years using digital image analysis and machine learning algorithms, ideally on histopathological images.
• Experience in statistical data analysis and visualization
• Understanding of biomedical image data, especially histopathological images.
• Track record of high quality publications with at least one first-author paper in a peer-reviewed journal or conference.
• Excellent analytical, communication and writing skills; ability to professionally communicate with scientific and lay audiences.
• Interest in real-life application of image analysis to diagnostics
• Excellent English language skills are required

What we offer

We offer an interdisciplinary post-doctoral position connecting digital pathology with bioengineering and clinical science at the Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University of Zurich. The position has a long-term perspective and will be directly supervised by Dr. Marta Nowak and Prof. Viktor Kölzer, lead for digital pathology at Zurich University Hospitals. You will work together with highly qualified post-docs, PhD students, clinicians and data analysts in an interdisciplinary group. In Zurich, you will be immersed in a dynamic, open and motivating academic environment. We are supported by intra- and extramural funding and are involved in several high-visibility national and international academic and industry collaborations (University of Oxford, University College London, University of Leiden, ETH Zurich, University of Bern, University of Basel).

About the employer

The University of Zurich is a leading center for several important developments in precision medicine including tumor genomics, proteomics and digital medicine. The Computational and Translational Pathology Group is spearheading the digitalization of pathology for the analysis of diagnostic tissue samples from clinical workflows and experimental cancer research. The Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology is centrally located in Zurich city, one of the most highly ranked cities in regards to safety and living quality in the world. The diagnostic services are fully accredited and are working with the latest technology standards in all areas. The Institute includes tissue pathology / cytology / post-mortem / neuropathology departments, a state-of-the-art molecular pathology laboratory, tissue research facility, centralized tissue bank and cancer registry.