Postdoctoral Position In Computational Psychiatry (Real-World Applications of AI and Machine Learning on Health Data)

Competition 949

The positions are available immediately and funding is sufficient to support the initial position for at least two years. The stipend will be commensurate with the experience of the successful candidate. 

This position offers a benefits package found at Postdoctoral Fellows Benefits.

Department Summary

The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta in Edmonton is recruiting two postdoctoral fellows in computational psychiatry focusing on Real-World Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) on Health Data (e.g., claims, prescriptions, emergency visits, hospitalization records, laboratory tests, clinical, behavioral and cognitive assessments, surveys).

The aim of the projects is to improve health outcomes and facilitate evidence-based decision making about mental and substance use disorders and other adverse outcomes (e.g., overdose) for clinicians, health service providers and policymakers through the translation and implementation of AI and ML in the real world beyond research settings.

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Metis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is one of Canada’s premiere health-sciences institutes, and in recent years has ranked among the top 50 medical schools in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The University of Alberta is home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, more than 300,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for over a decade.

The University of Alberta is located in Edmonton, a vibrant metropolitan area of 1.5M and the provincial capital for Alberta. This friendly city offers a rich cultural life and diverse recreational opportunities. The campus on which the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is located is adjacent to the North Saskatchewan River with one of the largest municipal park systems in North America. Edmonton is approximately 3.5 hours by car from Jasper and from Banff in the Canadian Rockies.

Position Summary

The successful applicants will participate and lead research that applies advanced statistical, AI and ML techniques to large populational health data of patients with mental and substance use disorders. Current and potential projects include two main directions: 1) Individualized prediction of mental and substance use disorders and overdoses and associated health and economical outcomes in the population using health, survey and biological data; 2) Implementation of ML models through interactions with multiple stakeholders and people with living and lived experiences.

The successful applicants will have the opportunity of supervised access to several public and government/institution owned datasets, including large (over 4 million people) de-identified health data from Alberta. In this context, there are excellent opportunities for shared mentorship and collaboration with several PIs in psychiatry and computing science, including the Alberta machine intelligence institute (Amii).

The successful applicants will play a leadership role for several research projects in computational psychiatry, develop and participate in preparation of research grant proposals, assist in the supervision and training of other personnel including technologists, graduate students, other lab members and scientific collaborators. The successful applicant will also have the opportunity to work directly with our partners in Ministries of Alberta Government, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Canadian Mental Health Association Edmonton, as well as international partners. The ideal applicant will exhibit a high level of motivation to pursue data-driven research in mental disorders, to publish in excellent peer-reviewed journals, and to seek prestigious fellowships and research awards, as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Applicants must possess a doctoral degree (PhD or MD/PhD) in relevant disciplines, such as computer science, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, psychiatry, psychology or statistics.
• Clinical or health research experience and strong coding or analytical skills are required.
• Fluency in English is a requirement and for applicants who did not complete training in an accredited English language institution, IELTS scores will normally be required as evidence of proficiency.
• Previous experience in structured and/or unstructured large-scale health data, a vision in future precision and personalized mental health, strong scientific writing and communication skills and capability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team and dynamic environment are desired.

To Apply:

Candidates should submit a cover letter, a statement of career goals, research interests (e.g., preferred research direction) and vision for research track if applicable; a complete CV (Canadian Common CV is acceptable) including a summary of graduate thesis research and post-doctoral research (if applicable), undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and the names and contact information (address, phone number and email address) of three referees to:

Dr. Bo Cao

Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair & Co-Director of Computational Psychiatry Group

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

Adjunct Professor, Department of Computing Science, Faculty of Science

University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2B7, Canada
Email address: bcao2@ualberta.ca

Webpage: https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/about/people/Bo-Cao