Data Science & AI Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow d42

Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow in Data Science & AI Innovation in Basel. The role focuses on developing machine learning models for clinical trial analysis, treatment effect estimation, and synthetic patient simulations.

This fellowship positions the researcher at the intersection of advanced machine learning and biomedical science. The primary objective is to advance how clinical trials are analyzed, simulated, and designed by creating models that learn treatment effects and explore counterfactual reasoning at the patient level. The role leverages access to extensive clinical, biomarker, and omics datasets to improve patient stratification and lay the groundwork for future virtual clinical trials.

Responsibilities

• Create and test machine learning models to estimate treatment effects, stratify patients, and predict counterfactual outcomes using clinical trial data.
• Design and assess generative AI systems for simulating patient trajectories, generating synthetic cohorts, and supporting virtual clinical trial use cases.
• Develop methods that allow treatment effect models to generalize across different patient populations, disease cohorts, and clinical indications.
• Utilize causal inference and explainable AI techniques to uncover predictive and mechanistic biomarkers linked to treatment responses and adverse events.
• Establish and refine ML research strategies and experimental designs to meet scientific objectives.
• Partner with cross-functional teams in data science, translational medicine, oncology, immunology, and drug development.
• Share research findings through publications, conference participation, and internal seminars.

Requirements

• A PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in a relevant scientific field, completed before the fellowship begins.
• A proven track record of scientific contributions, such as publications, presentations, or patents.
• A strong dedication to continuous learning, innovation, and professional growth.
• Solid expertise in machine learning (including deep learning and probabilistic modeling) and statistics.
• Hands-on experience in deep model development, including architecture design and training task formulation.
• An interest in biology, clinical data, or drug discovery.
• Ability to communicate effectively across interdisciplinary teams.

Nice to have

• Background in causal ML, representation learning, and generative models.
• Experience collaborating within multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiarity with developing machine learning models for regulatory purposes.

What the company offers

• Mentorship from experienced scientific leaders and subject matter experts.
• Access to cutting-edge technologies, platforms, and research capabilities.
• Opportunities for cross-disciplinary and cross-organizational collaboration.
• Integration into a global and diverse community of postdoctoral fellows.
• Dedicated programming to support fellows' career development and success.
• Personalized experiential learning through a Postdoc Practicum.
• Support for presenting research, publishing in top journals, and building an international scientific network.

About the company

The Novartis Postdoctoral Fellowship program aims to cultivate the next generation of scientific leaders. It combines rigorous research with immersive learning experiences to drive the future of medicine.

• Focus on developing future scientific leaders through rigorous research and immersive learning.
• Commitment to powering the future of medicine.