Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Responsible Machine Learning for Sleep-Related Respiratory Disorders

About the position

Position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow available at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo (UiO).

Starting date earliest as possible in agreement with the project leader.

The appointment is a fulltime position and is for a period of three (3) years

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.

Project description

The position is part of the RESPIRE project funded by the Research Council of Norway. Re-spire is an interdisciplinary research project with partners in Medicine (Institute of Clinical Medicine (UiO), Oslo University Hospital, Lovisenberg Diakonale Syke-hus), Ethics (Centre for Medical Ethics (UiO), Law (Department of Private Law (UiO), and Computer Science (Department of Informatics (UiO), Department of Computer Science (National University of Singapore). The goal of RESPIRE is to develop machine learning (ML) solutions for sleep-related disorders that are (1) explainable to the different users, including patients, health professionals, and ML developers, and (2) responsible with respect ethical and legal considerations.

The Computer Science part of the project is embedded in the research group for Analytical Solutions and Reasoning (ASR). The core research themes of ASR are applied logic, semantic technology, data management, data integration, formal models and analysis, and explainable AI, with applications within Big Data related to industrial and the healthcare domains.The group is also engaged in the University’s newly established dScience centre where the successful applicant will find a rapidly evolving cross-disciplinary hot-bed of data science researchers.

The main tasks of this position are as follows:

• Investigate recent consumer electronics for their use to monitor the sleep of young patients including infants.
• Develop ML solutions to analyze the sleep monitoring data from these de-vices.
• Support the data acquisition process, i.e., sleep monitoring of patients.
• Contribute to the development of an explainability framework for the ML solutions in collaboration with project members of all involved scientific disciplines.
• Contribute to the development of a data warehouse solution for the data collected and analysed in the project.
• Apply the explainability framework to evaluate the ML solutions.

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Qualification requirements:

The successful candidate must document practical experience and knowledge with at least three of the following challenges:

• ML for time-series data,
• medical ML based applications,
• explainable AI / interpretable ML,
• privacy protecting ML solutions, and
• advanced data management solutions

Mastering a Scandinavian language will be an advantage (due to possible patient contacts etc.).

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in Computer Science. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evalua-tion by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defence are eligible for appointment.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

Personal skills:

The successful candidate should be interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and to understand scientific methods used in medics, ethics, and law.

Furthermore, good communication skills are important, both for the interdisciplinary work as well as potential interactions with patients.

We offer

• Salary NOK 544 400 - 626 300 per year depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (position code 1352)
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• Professionally stimulating working environment
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Postdoctoral development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• Short project description (2 – 4 pages) that fits into the Parrot project
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
• Two letters of recommendation
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their university's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed twice as a Postdoctoral fellow financed with funds from The Research Council of Norway (NFR).

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years).

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For further information please contact:

• Professor Thomas Plagemann, phone: +47 228 52743, e-mail: plageman@ifi.uio.no or
• Professor Vera Goebel, e-mail: goebel@ifi.uio.no

For questions regarding the recruitment system Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Therese Ringvold, e-mail: therese.ringvold@mn.uio.no

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