Postdoctoral Fellowship (11) at University of Helsinki, Finland

A Postdoctoral Researcher position is available in the Epithelial Morphogenesis group led by Dr. Marja Mikkola at the Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/epithelial-morphogenesis). We are seeking a highly motivated researcher to join our team. We use a wide range of molecular, cellular, transcriptomic, and advanced imaging techniques, in combination with ex vivo and in vivo manipulation of developing mouse organs.

The project will focus on how signaling pathways operate at the intersection of growth control and branching morphogenesis in the developing mammary gland and can be tuned according to the interests and skills of the applicant. The project will use mouse mutants and may use techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing and live confocal whole-mount imaging. The position is also suitable for an applicant who wishes to build their independent career after the post-doc period. We offer an international, inspiring, and supportive research environment and excellent research facilities with access to the state-of-the art technologies. 

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher to join an international team investigating the links between indoor air quality, dust microbiomes, and health. The project combines amplicon and shotgun sequencing approaches with bioinformatics and experimental toxicological data. The role also involves collaboration with our partners across Finland and Europe.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will work on a project characterizing the effects of kainate-receptors on functional maturation of GABAergic interneurons, focusing on PV and SOM subtypes in the limbic microcircuitries. The physiological significance of the findings will be investigated in the context of early life stress and neurodevelopmental disorders, involving aberrant amygdala dependent behaviors. The selected candidate will perform in vitro (patch clamp) and in vivo electrophysiological recordings, AAV viral infections and advanced data analysis. He/she is also expected to supervise research trainees in the group.

The Faculty of Law invites applications for a fixed term employment contract for a postdoctoral researcher from 01.08.2026 to 31.7.2028, funded by the Research Council of Finland. The position is a fixed-term contract for 2 years, with a possibility for a 1-year extension. The postdoctoral researcher will develop their own research in relation to international law and transformation in the global economy, associated with Dr. René Urueña’s professorship in international law.

The Faculty of Humanities and Faculty of Science invite applications for a joint (50%:50%) position as Research Fellow in trustworthy AI across linguistic and cultural diversities within the research action Diversity in Society and Life (DIVSOL). We seek an experienced scholar with expertise in developing artificial intelligence and a demonstrated interest in advancing research methods through interdisciplinary collaboration. We primarily seek to appoint at the Research Fellow level, but Postdoctoral Researcher candidates with strong research experience after doctoral degree will also be considered.

The appointed researcher is expected to contribute, from the perspective of AI methods development, to the interdisciplinary research across two or more thematic areas of DIVSOL (see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/diversity-society-and-life/research for more detailed description of the thematic areas). The position involves methodological development in the context of humanities, especially linguistic and cultural diversities across time and space, AI research in low-resource scenarios (e.g., focusing on minoritized and under-resourced communities), and developing methods for diminishing the digital divide in research and society by developing reliable and trustworthy AI.

The successful candidate will investigate academic emotions and emotional well-being in technology-mediated learning, with a focus on psychophysiological indicators of emotions in ecologically valid learning settings. The position contributes to the AI-EMOTION project by combining wearable sensor data (e.g., cardiac and electrodermal signals) with event-based self-reports (experience sampling). A central task is to drive methodological development by advancing and validating sensor data processing and feature extraction workflows, and by developing approaches to integrate these outputs with self-reports to model students’ emotions beyond laboratory settings. The work duties of the selected candidate include: 

• Planning and implementing data collection in real-world learning contexts (including wearable-sensor measurements and experience sampling via smartphones) 
• Processing and analyzing wearable-sensor data (e.g., preprocessing, artefact handling, feature extraction, synchronization/alignment with experience-sampling prompts) 
• Statistical modelling and analyses of collected multimodal data (e.g., within-person dynamics, multilevel models, dynamic models/time-series approaches) 
• Publishing results in high-quality international scientific journals and presenting findings at major conferences 
• Supporting project coordination and administration as agreed (e.g., contributing to reporting, documentation, data management practices, project deliverables) 
• Teamwork within the multidisciplinary research group (e.g., learning sciences, educational psychology, computer science) 
• Small-scale supervision and/or teaching tasks as agreed (e.g., co-supervision of theses, supporting research training within the project). 

The research action Systems of Food and Drug Security (fooDrug) brings together University of Helsinki research across nine different units, to address challenges relating to the production, processing, distribution and use of food and drug products without compromising human safety, health, and cultural and social acceptance. We will enable the development of a more holistic, efficient and safe approach to new food and drugs and related technologies, as exemplified by advances in pharmacogenomics and nanomedicine, novel viral vectors, new food materials, improved food hygiene and enhanced human sensory experience.

The postdoctoral researcher will work in Professor Mikko Niemi’s research group, which is internationally recognized for research in clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenetics, and individualized drug therapy. The group is expanding its activities toward AI-driven clinical data analysis, modelling, prediction, and decision-support systems related to pharmacogenomics, food–drug interactions, drug safety, and personalized health.

The successful candidate will contribute to developing and applying artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to large-scale clinical, biomedical, pharmacological, and food-related datasets, supporting the goals of the Profi8 profiling area.

The IsoMuseomics project aims to trace genomic changes across a wide time span – up to 200 years – to understand how environmental changes have impacted their genomic diversity. The project focuses on Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) as model system, that are currently threatened or vulnerable, which serve as important ecological indicator. By analysing historical specimens from museum collections (dried and pinned specimens), we can investigate how these changes are encoded in their DNA, across both spatial and temporal scales. The majority of genomic data will be generated from historical museum specimens, which typically yield highly fragmented DNA.