SMASH postdoctoral research fellow in breathomics and biomarker discovery

Applicants are invited to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship in breathomics and biomarker discovery, with the University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia and the University of Manchester, UK.

Are you a Data Scientist interested in Machine Learning in Breathomics? Apply for a 2 year MSCA postdoctoral fellowship with SMASH (https://smash.ung.si/), an innovative, intersectoral, career-development training program for outstanding postdoctoral researchers, co-funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND program. SMASH is open to all researchers from around the world who are interested in developing cutting-edge machine learning applications for science and humanities.

Each fellowship training program is tailored to each successful applicant. Applicants should propose an ambitious research project in one of SMASH’s key research areas, centered on the use of cutting-edge machine learning, or more broadly, artificial intelligence techniques, to address some of the world’s most challenging questions, including the field of personalised medicine.

The laboratory for Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Nova Gorica and the Division of Immunology, Immunity to Infection and Respiratory Medicine at Manchester University, invite you to design and develop a research program related to metabolomics, breath research and biomarker discovery. The postdoctoral researcher would be hosted at the University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia, and would be required to spend significant periods of time at the partner institute in Manchester, UK alongside additional opportunities for further secondments within the extensive SMASH network.

Contact iain.white@ung.si and/or stephen.fowler@manchester.ac.uk to discuss the proposal for your research program.

Further information is available on the SMASH web page (https://smash.ung.si/), and detailed in a dedicated Guide for Applicants.

 

Who can apply?

Holders of a PhD degree, of any nationality, complying with the MSCA-COFUND mobility rule can apply, namely: SMASH fellows must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Slovenia for more than 12 months in the three year period before the call deadline. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have yet to be formally awarded their doctoral degree will also be considered postdoctoral researchers and are eligible to apply.

The SMASH program values an inclusive culture and believes diversity is the key to success, so SMASH warmly welcomes applicants from underrepresented groups. Note also that SMASH offers a dedicated allowance to support applicants with special needs.

Why apply?

MSCA COFUND SMASH is a highly competitive program offering attractive conditions to researchers, designed to boost their career development. This includes:

  • A 2-year full-time employment contract as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND fellow and full academic freedom to pursue your research project at one of the SMASH host institutions coupled with a generous budget for research, training, and travel;
  • Access to one of Europe’s newest High-Performance Computers, the petascale Vega facility, and some of the world's most significant research collaborations and facilities, such as LHC-ATLAS and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory;
  • A personalized training program that meets the needs of each fellow alongside active career mentoring by supervisors from SMASH academic partners: 23 leading institutions, including UC Berkeley, University of Washington, CERN, Queen Mary University of London, Weizmann Institute, and the University of Amsterdam.
  • Strong links with industry through cooperation with SMASH non-academic partners: five highly successful SMEs in Slovenia;
  • International and intersectoral mobility through secondment periods with SMASH partners;
  • High-level courses on SMASH research topics, complemented by extensive soft- training programs, including transferable skills development.
  • Attractive living conditions: Slovenia ranks highly in quality of life indices due to its preserved natural environment, good infrastructure and public services, low crime, and high level of safety. Fellows will be compensated with a generous monthly gross salary of €5449/€4882 (w or w/o family), which includes all taxes and other statutory payments. For comparison, the average gross salary in Slovenia is about €2025

/month, and a single person’s estimated monthly costs are around €800 without rent (see NUMBEO).