Postdoctoral or Doctoral Researcher in Microbiome Bioinformatics

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

  • Helsinki
  • Sopimus
  • Täyspäiväinen
  • 10 päivää sitten
Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry invites applications for aPOSTDOCTORAL OR DOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN MICROBIOME BIOINFORMATICSstarting from October 2025, or as agreed. The Postdoctoral/Doctoral Researcher will be offered a full-time contract for 2-3 (Postdoctoral) or 3 (Doctoral) years, with the possibility of extension after the end of the contract. There will be a trial period of six months at the beginning of employment.Position descriptionThe successful candidate will work within the research project “Expanding the Horizons of Antimicrobial Resistance Research” funded by the Research Council of Finland in the research group of Academy Research Fellow Katariina Pärnänen. Our group aims to discover associations with socio-economic markers, health, gut microbiomes, and antibiotic resistance in large population cohorts and big data to help mitigate the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis.AMR is one of the biggest threats to human health and is estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths annually. However, drivers of the AMR crisis are still largely unexplored in population cohorts. Also, the amount of sequencing data has increased massively in the last decade, providing opportunities to mine big data to learn more about the drivers of AMR in humans. Our work includes computational analysis of antibiotic resistance and microbiomes, statistical analysis of high-dimensional datasets, and developing bioinformatic pipelines for high-throughput analysis in high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. The work provides the possibility to develop skills in microbial ecology, data analysis, and bioinformatics in an international and multidisciplinary setting and gain a competitive academic CV.The Postdoctoral Researcher is expected to: * advance the research project together with the team
  • participate in supervising students working in the team
In addition, the Doctoral Researcher is expected to: * conduct doctoral studies and research work leading to a completed PhD thesisYour work may also include teaching duties (at most 5% of annual working time).Requirements and eligibility criteriaFor the Doctoral Researcher's position, the appointee is expected to have an applicable second-cycle degree and the right to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki.For the Doctoral Researcher's position, the appointee must enroll as a PhD student at the University of Helsinki. The appointee should either already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki by the start of the appointment or apply for the right and obtain it within the probationary period of six months of their appointment. If the appointee does not already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki, it must be applied for separately, please see:Please check the admission periods and eligibility criteria atFor the Postdoctoral Researcher's position, the appointee shall hold a doctoral degree and have the ability to conduct independent scholarly work as well as the teaching skills necessary for the position. In the postdoctoral researcher's position, the degree requirement (doctoral degree) must be met by the beginning of the employment.The Postdoctoral/Doctoral Researcher should have a PhD or a master's degree in microbiology, computer science, or bioinformatics (or a related field). Prior experience in R and coding is expected. Experience in analysing high-throughput sequencing data is a bonus. Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written, are expected.Salary and benefitsThe salary is defined in accordance with the University's salary system for teaching and research personnel.The Doctoral Researcher's salary is based on level 2-4 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee shall be paid a salary component based on personal work performance The Doctoral Researcher's starting salary is approximately 2500 euros/month depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate. The salary will increase as the PhD work progresses.The Postdoctoral Researcher's salary is based on level 5 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee shall be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. The starting salary of the Postdoctoral Researcher will c. 3600 euros/month, depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care, well-equipped sports facilities, and vast opportunities for professional development.Finland is a member of the EU, has high-quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the happiest country in the world. Finland and the Helsinki region possess top expertise in sciences in terms of a vibrant talent pool, leading research, strong support services, and functioning collaboration networks. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see .How to applyPlease submit your application, which includes the following documents in English.
  • A motivation letter describing why you are interested in this position and how you are qualified (max. 1 page)
  • A curriculum vitae including a list of publications (if any).
  • An example of written analytical text (e.g., Master's thesis). If the text is not solo-authored, detail your contribution to producing the text.
  • Names and contact information of two referees, who are willing to provide reference letters upon request (optional).
External applicants, please submit your application through the University of Helsinki's recruitment system via the Apply Now button.Applicants who have a helsinki.fi username, and a valid employment/grant/visitor contract at the University of Helsinki are requested to submit their application via the Employee login button.We are eager to fill this position as soon as possible and therefore encourage early applications. However, the absolute deadline for submitting applications is September 30, 2025 (at 23:59 UTC +3).More information?For project and position questions, please contact
  • Academy Research fellow, Katariina Pärnänen,
For more information on the research group's publications and the project, seeIf you need support with the recruitment system, please contact HR Services ( ).WHY FINLAND AND HELSINKI
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