IRB Barcelona is seeking a talented and highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology group (https://sbnb.irbbarcelona.org), led by Dr. Patrick Aloy, to work on Systems Medicine approaches in the context of the CLARITY European collaborative project.
Viral infections, together with human genetics, constitute major risk factors for developing complex diseases. However, the molecular and physiological mechanisms of how these viral infections cause and contribute to non-communicable disease development are unknown thus hampering prevention and therapeutic approaches. CLARITY will take advantage of cutting-edge experimental technologies and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analytics to elucidate the molecular and physiological mechanisms of how RSV infection (infectious disease) contributes to asthma (non-communicable disease) development.
In particular, we will use modern AI techniques to integrate the generated RSV data with the bulk of current biomedical knowledge and derive RSV perturbation signatures. We will then compare these signatures to those of non-communicable human diseases, and implement a strategy to discover causal relationships between them. Finally, we will identify and validate drug-like molecules with the potential to revert the RSV perturbation induced changes in vitro, and provide initial lead compounds for further development.
This position is co-financed by the project Causative Link between respiratory syncytial virus and chronic lung diseases: Identifying Targets for Teraphy de la Comisión Europea. Acrónimo: CLARITY. Grant Agreement: 101137201.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will work in a very collaborative environment, where he/she will be responsible for the integration of all the data generated within the consortium into the embeddings space of the Chemical Checker (Duran-Frigola et al. Nat Biotechnol 2020; Bertoni et al. Nat Commun 2021; Comajuncosa-Creus et al. Nat Protocols 2025) and the Bioteque (Fernández-Torras et al. Nat Commun 2022) as well as the development of the new signatures to define the perturbed modules. Additionally, he/she will also be responsible for developing the comparative methods to link the effects of viral-perturbations to the signatures of non-communicable common diseases.
Finally, he/she will adapt the generative-AI models available in the group to identify or design new chemical compounds with the capacity to stop the progression from RSV-induced cellular perturbations to the onset of related non-communicable diseases.
You Have
- Education: Bachelor in Biosciences, or Engineering degree in Computer or Data Sciences. PhD in bioinformatics, data sciences, machine learning or related areas.
- Experience: previous experience working with multi-omics data and the use of machine learning and data science techniques. Strong publications record according to his/her career stage.
- Skills:
- Excellent programming and scripting skills, with deep knowledge of Python.
- Excellent knowledge of machine learning packages (Scikit, Keras, Pytorch, etc).
- Competent in the use of HPC systems, virtual machines (OpenNebula) and Grid Containers (Docker, Singularity).
- Highly motivated. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Fluency in English.
Requirements
- Research Field: Biological sciences
- Education Level: PhD or equivalent
- Languages: English — Excellent
Work Location
Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Baldiri Reixac, 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain