Postdoctoral Researcher in Multimodal Data Integration of Spatial Genomics Data and Clinical Data in Breast Cancer

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Spatially resolved genomics unlocks unprecedented insight into tissue architecture, yet its full power emerges only when combined with single‑cell transcriptomics, epigenomics, and rich clinical annotations. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Daublab at Karolinska Institutet, you will lead sophisticated multimodal bioinformatics integration and analysis, collaborating daily with a diverse team of computational scientists and clinicians to translate complex data into actionable cancer‑biology discoveries. 

This position offers the freedom to innovate, the support of a multidisciplinary team, and the opportunity to translate computational insights into tangible clinical impact.

You will be an important part of an international and outstandingly exciting work environment of the highest scientific quality in world-leading research groups in Sweden and collaboration with groups in Europe and Japan.

Your mission

Understanding disease requires weaving together many layers of biological and clinical information. By fusing multimodal data including genomics, imaging, spatial omics, and patient records, we can capture the full spectrum of tumor heterogeneity, sharpen diagnostic precision, and pave the way for next‑generation screening strategies.

As a postdoctoral researcher in our group, you will lead the integration of a rich portfolio of breast‑cancer datasets, including spatial transcriptomics and spatial epigenomics maps, single‑cell RNA‑seq and ATAC‑seq profiles, high‑resolution whole‑slide breast‑tissue images, detailed clinical annotations and outcomes, and whole‑genome sequencing data.

While many of these resources originate from our own laboratory, you will also curate complementary datasets from public repositories, ensuring a comprehensive and reproducible resource for the community.

Key responsibilities include:

• Data harmonization and quality control: align disparate modalities, correct batch effects, and preserve biologically meaningful signals.
• Clinical contextualization: acquire a deep understanding of breast‑cancer pathology and treatment pathways to evaluate how integrated data reflect real‑world disease phenotypes.
• Advanced analytics: apply AI and machine‑learning techniques (e.g., graph neural networks, multimodal transformers) to uncover novel biomarkers and generate interpretable visualizations.
• Collaboration and dissemination: work closely with clinicians, biologists, and computational scientists; publish findings in high‑impact journals and present at international conferences.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctor, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

The ideal postdoctoral candidate holds a Ph.D. in a relevant field such as molecular biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, or computer science, and has a strong publication record that demonstrates independent research capability.

Possession of hands‑on experience with multimodal biomedical data including single‑cell and spatial omics, high‑resolution tissue imaging, and clinical metadata, and ability to comfortable processing these data using tools like Seurat, Scanpy, or QuPath. Proficiency in Python or R, coupled with familiarity with machinelearning frameworks (e.g., scikit‑learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow), is essential for developing and adapting advanced AI models to integrate heterogeneous datasets.

You exhibit solid analytical skills, the ability to design robust computational workflows, troubleshoot complex data issues, and critically evaluate model performance. Excellent communication abilities are required to convey findings to both technical and clinical audiences, write manuscripts, and present at conferences.

Collaboration is key: you thrive in interdisciplinary teams, mentor junior members, and manage project timelines effectively. A commitment to reproducible, open‑science practices including version control, containerization, and ethical handling of patient data under GDPR is expected.

Finally, enthusiasm for translating computational insights into clinically relevant discoveries, particularly in breast‑cancer heterogeneity and diagnostics, will ensure a strong fit with the lab’s mission.

We place great importance on personal suitability.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Flemingsberg

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Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• PhD certificate
• A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

Welcome to apply at the latest 2025-10-17

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

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