Postdoc – Cellular Reprogramming

IDEAS NCBR Sp. z o.o. is a research and development centre operating in the field of artificial intelligence and digital economy, whose mission is to support the development of these technologies in Poland by creating a platform that connects the academic and business environments.

IDEAS NCBR Sp. z o.o. is a part of the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR Group). Our goal is to build in Poland the largest, friendly to conduct innovative research platform, to educate a new generation of scientists focused on development of algorithms and their subsequent practical application, commercialization in the industry, finance, medicine and other branches of the economy. 

COMPETITION FOR THE POST-DOC POSITION

We are looking for an outstanding postdoctoral candidate to conduct research within EdgeCR, a multidisciplinary research project to be carried out at IDEAS NCBR in collaboration with the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) at the University of Luxembourg.

The project is related to developing novel scalable computational methods for the identification of effective control targets and strategies for cellular reprogramming and transdifferentiation. This will require considerations of holistic, large-scale models of gene regulatory networks (GRNs). To facilitate such modelling, single-cell expression data will be leveraged for construction of Boolean network (BNs) models of GRNs.

The postdoctoral researcher will devise computational pipelines that will be based on the existing state-of-the-art BN inference methods but will allow to incorporate into the inference process characteristics structural and dynamical features of GRNs with the aim of constructing more realistic and accurate BN models. The constructed predictive models will be used for the development of scalable deep-learning-based algorithms for the identification of effective cellular reprogramming targets and strategies. The obtained reprogramming results will be validated experimentally by our collaborators at the University of Luxembourg in the context of astrocytes to dopaminergic neurons conversion.

The selected person will work as a post-doc* in the research team of Andrzej Mizera, PhD within the OPUS-26 LAP grant (project number: 2023/51/I/ST6/02864).

Research team: Medical Pathology Diagnostics

Principal Investigator: Andrzej Mizera

THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• A PhD degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, computational biology, bioinformatics, or related field
• A strong experience in computational systems biology research, in particular in computational modelling of biological systems, supported by publications in renowned international journals and/or conference proceedings
• Biological knowledge related to gene regulatory networks
• Good understanding of statistical analysis principles
• Familiarity with machine learning and AI techniques
• Proficiency in Python or R programming languages
• Knowledge of Boolean Networks and experience in working with scRNA-seq data is an advantage
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Self-motivation, strong commitment, and ability to work in a team
• Good ability to manage tasks effectively to meet project requirements

WE OFFER:

• stable full-time employment based on a fixed-term (1 year) contract; starting date: November 15, 2024 (flexible)
• remuneration: PLN 9500-12500 gross ;
• travel budget;
• tools necessary for work: mobile phone, laptop etc,
• private medical care,
• employee benefits.

PLEASE ATTACH THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS WHEN APPLYING:

• CV with the list of publications and projects,
• Copy of the PhD diploma,
• References – further we will ask also to send us the contact details (name, email address) to persons who would be keen to provide a references.
• The following statement should be included to the application: “I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purposes of organizing and conducting the competition and providing information about the results of the competition. I acknowledge that the administrator of the personal data is the IDEAS NCBR Sp. z o.o. ul. Chmielna 69, 00-801 Warszawa. I am aware that providing the data is voluntary, but necessary for the purposes for which they were collected (in accordance with the Act of 10 May 2018 on the protection of personal data, Journal of Laws of 2018. item 1000)”. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) and the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1000).
• Evaluation of applications of candidates will be carried out by the Competition Committee in accordance with the Regulations for the allocation of funds for the implementation of tasks financed by the National Science Centre in the field of research projects, post-doctoral traineeships and PhD scholarships. The committee reserves the right not to grant the scholarship and to renew the competition if the candidates fail to meet the requirements set out in the competition or other important circumstances appear which influence the planned project implementation.
• The Commission will evaluate the applications on a point scale. The employment contract will be offered to the person with the highest number of points.
• In case of resignation of a candidate with the highest score, the Commission reserves the right to select the next candidate from the ranking list.
• The Commission will contact only selected candidates.

APPLICATION

Applications and any further questions should be sent to andrzej.mizera@ideas-ncbr.pl. The application deadline is October 31, 2024.

Additional information concerning the conditions of participation in the call and the competition procedure

• Post-doc position should be understood as a full-time position planned by a project manager for a person beginning his/her scientific career, who obtained his/her doctoral degree not earlier than 7 years before the year of employment in the project, including breaks and leaves.
• In accordance with the requirements of the National Science Center (further as NCN), a post-doc position may be filled by a person who:

a) will be selected in an open competition, conducted by a recruitment committee appointed by the head of the entity implementing the research project, consisting of the project manager as chairperson and at least two persons indicated by him/her, having appropriate scientific or professional qualifications. The evaluation of the candidates is based on the criteria specified in the announcement of the competition, and the results of the competition are made public by placing them on the website of the entity in which the research project will be implemented;

b) the project manager was not a promoter or associate promoter of her/his dissertation;

c) she/he has obtained a doctoral degree in an entity other than the entity in which the employment on this position is planned, or has had at least 10 months of continuous and documented postdoctoral training in an entity other than the entity implementing the project and in a country other than the country in which the doctoral degree was obtained;

d) will be employed for a period not shorter than 6 months;

e) during the period of obtaining this remuneration will not draw other remuneration from the funds allocated as direct costs from research projects financed within NCN competitions;

f) during the period of obtaining this remuneration will not draw other remuneration from another employer based on an employment contract, including an employer based outside Poland.

GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: see here