PhD in Machine Learning for Medical Wearable Data 100 %

Research Group for Data Science in Diabetes Care
Start of employment: as soon as possible
Duration: 3 years with the possibility to extend by 1 year
The research group for Data Science in Diabetes Care (led by Prof. Dr. Lisa Koch) is offering a PhD position in machine learning for medical wearable data analysis.
Keywords: medical AI, wearable data, deep learning, foundation models, self-supervised learning, cardiovascular risk

PhD in Machine Learning for Medical
Wearable Data

Wearable devices such as continuous glucose monitors and smartwatches hold high potential for patient care, in particular for diseases where patients need to make frequent decisions about their behaviour, lifestyle or medication. In these situations, AI-based tools can interpret wearable signals and provide feedback, and recommendations.

The goal of this project is to develop deep learning methods to analyse wearable signals. The project will focus on both method development and clinical application. In the methodological part, the candidate will develop ML techniques to learn from large-scale wearable datasets (continuous glucose monitoring devices and smartwatches), with a specific focus on the development of foundation models and self-supervised pre-training. In the application part, the candidate will use the developed techniques to train specialised models for wearable-based cardiovascular risk factor prediction. In this task, the candidate will benefit from regular interaction with clinical experts from the Insel University Hospital Bern involved in the project.

We are looking for an ambitious and highly motivated PhD candidate with a keen interest in doing machine learning research in the healthcare space. You should hold a Masters degree in a quantitative discipline such as computer science, machine learning, statistics, biomedical or electrical engineering, or similar. You have solid knowledge of machine learning and strong programming skills in Python. Ideally, you already have some experience with deep learning. Experience processing time-series or wearable data is a plus.

Beyond technical skills, you communicate clearly in both verbal and written settings. You work well independently but act as a team player. You are self-driven, curious and excited to do good science.

We are a recently established research lab with a strong focus on AI for medicine. We are uniquely positioned at the intersection of the machine learning/engineering and medical research communities in Bern.

The candidate will be supervised by Prof. Lisa Koch and embedded in the research group for data science in diabetes care. The group is affiliated with the Medical Faculty of the University of Bern, in particular the University Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology, Nutritional Medicine and Metabolism (UDEM), and has close links to the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (CAIM).

Prof. Dr. Lisa Koch, E-Mail schreiben