Professor in Artificial Intelligence in Biomolecular Medicine

Organisation/Company Ghent University Research Field Biological sciences » Biology Biological sciences » Other Computer science » Other Engineering » Biomedical engineering Engineering » Other Medical sciences » Other Technology » Biotechnology Researcher Profile Leading Researcher (R4) Country Belgium Application Deadline 30 Nov 2025 - 22:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No Offer Description ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY Ghent University is a world‑class, open, pluralistic and socially engaged university. Our credo is 'Dare to Think' : we are a haven for courageous thinkers. Withone of themost progressive career models for academicsin the world, Ghent University evaluates its scholars not only by the length of their publication list but also by the impact they pursue, what they achieve and how they collaborate. Are you a good ‘fit’ with our university? Discover here our vision on education and research . General positioning within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Ghent University is a leading academic community committed to excellent education, groundbreaking research, and impactful social service. With a wide range of programmes, multiple departments, and a broad array of research groups, the faculty covers a wide spectrum of health sciences. It is characterized by a high diversity of research, ranging from fundamental, translational, and clinical to epidemiological (bio)medical research. The faculty’s operations are firmly embedded in an academic and clinical ecosystem with close collaborations with knowledge centres such as Ghent University Hospital and the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), as well as numerous national and international partners. This anchoring creates a stimulating environment in which interdisciplinarity, innovation, and societal relevance take centre stage. As faculty we are guided by a clear identity: together, with integrity and engagement. Members of the Independent Academic Staff (ZAP) are expected to develop research and teaching activities that contribute to the advancement of medicine and health sciences. Where possible, they join existing research groups rather than establishing small, isolated units. Research and teaching at the faculty are only partly supported by staff directly funded by the government (ZAP, assisting academic staff, and administrative and technical staff). A substantial part of the faculty’s research is realised by researchers that are funded through external national/Flemish or international resources. To maintain and strengthen its competitive position nationally and internationally, acquiring external research funding is crucial. Therefore, the faculty expects each ZAP member to take joint responsibility in attracting resources and building interdisciplinary collaborations. Positioning within the Department of Biomolecular Medicine This position is situated in the department of Biomolecular Medicine of the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The appointment includes a teaching, research and service assignment. The department of Biomolecular Medicine comprises several leading research groups, each with their own scientific research lines. Multidisciplinary research is key within this department, which offers a unique environment where beyond state‑of‑the‑art technological platforms (genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, single cell omics, functional genomics, computational biology) are applied for the analysis of cellular and animal model systems as well as patient samples, with the aim of developing new biomarkers for diagnostics and disease evolution and (bio)therapeutics, in close connection with Ghent University Hospital, an international embedded clinical trial centre. This position involves the development of artificial intelligence (AI) models to interpret large‑scale (bio)medical datasets more comprehensively and accurately, with the aim of gaining new insights into the obtained data and formulating new hypotheses that lead to new research lines. Both the development of AI models and AI applications, as the effective application on (bio)medical datasets are included in this position. ASSIGNMENT Academic education You lecture various course units in the discipline of bioinformatics, data analysis of large‑scale (bio)medical data, applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning. You contribute to teaching in bachelor and master years of several training programmes in the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as in other faculties. You supervise master’s theses and internships within our and other faculties. In addition to subject‑specific assignments, you also take on more generic teaching assignments. The assignment can evolve according to needs and changes. Academic research You conduct innovative and internationally recognised research in the field of artificial intelligence for a more complete, efficient and accurate interpretation of large‑scale (bio)medical datasets, locally sourced as well as sourced from public data, with the aim of gaining new insights and formulating new hypotheses and/or developing new diagnostic techniques and/or evaluating clinical interventions for rare diseases,… More specifically, in collaboration with established research groups both within and outside the department, you will develop research lines that encompass both the development of AI models and AI applications, as the effective application on (bio)medical datasets, within the research domains of the department such as integrative omics, protein structure and/or function prediction, medical image processing and applications of convolutional and graph neural networks, digital twins,… in the fields of rare diseases, cancer and inflammation . Institutional and societal engagement Based on your expertise and experience, you will contribute to the university’s operations and/or take on external assignments. You take part in the internal and external service provision of the department of Biomolecular Medicine, amongst others by translating the results of your research to the broader public. During your career, you are willing to include roles and management positions that are relevant to the department and/or faculty. PROFILE You have a strong academic CV with international visibility in the requested field: Your achievements in the field of research and education contribute to the development of the scientific domain (e.g. publications, presentations, or other academic output); You are capable to initiate and supervise educational and research projects and to acquire the necessary funding for this; You are didactically skilled to teach university students to develop academic competences ; You are didactically and communicatively skilled to convey complex matters to non-specialists; You have experience in the analysis of omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, single-cell analyses) using AI techniques; You have experience with the sourcing, cleaning, and use of public omics data to train and/or apply AI models; Experience with global data standardisation for efficient (AI‑oriented) re‑use of (public) (bio)medical and omics data is recommended; Experience with AI based (bio)medical image processing, convolutional neural networks, graph neural networks and/or digital twins is recommended; (International) mobility (e.g. education, research, economic, or societal) and participation in internationalisation (consortia, board memberships, international education) is recommended. You work in a collaborative way and integrate smoothly into the department/faculty. You look for opportunities inside and outside the university and actively use your network to do so. You are able to collaborate productively and efficiently with (international) (bio)medical researchers who provide relevant data and research questions. You show leadership potential/have leadership experience. More information about leadership at Ghent University. If you don’t know Dutch, you are willing to learn it. This will be assessed during the selection interview. When taking up a teaching assignment, you must master the language of instruction of the course. More information about the language requirements and appropriate language guidance at Ghent University. APPOINTMENT INFORMATION Considering the evaluation of academic potential and the accomplishments of the selected candidate, the appointment to the position of assistant professor or associate professor is conferred. We offer you an appointment with renewable duration for a maximum of 6 years. Pay attention: A part‑time assignment of a certain degree of the professorial staff cannot be combined with a part‑time assignment of a different degree of the professorial staff within the same institution. The recruitment is from 1 September 2026. OUR OFFER Ghent University has developed a new inspiring career model for professors. Academic freedom and academics’ responsibility, talents and ambitions act as a natural drive to advance their careers, as part of teamwork. Ghent University is specifically committed to guiding international professors in the process of coming to Ghent. At Ghent University, our view is as broad as possible, because internationalisation creates synergies within and outside the institution. We offer you a wide range of employee benefits . The basic teacher training and courses in ‘Dutch’ and ‘English’ for foreign‑speaking lecturers are just a few of our wide range of courses and training. Ghent University pursues an equal opportunities policy and values everyone’s talent, regardless of gender, age, philosophy of life, skin colour, sexual orientation, migration background or disability. We encourage everyone to apply. Interruptions in research careers and/or atypical career paths (e.g. relevant experience outside the academic sector) will be taken into account when assessing the application. SELECTION PROCEDURE The selection committee will carry out an initial, substantive screening of the admissible applications on the file. This assessment takes into consideration both the candidate’s merits and potential. Ghent University emphasises the qualitative assessment of academic performance. Therefore, candidates are asked in the application form to mention their most important academic or non‑academic achievements with the most impact. For shortlisted candidates, the following steps in the selection procedure shall consist of at least: • a selection interview in which the vision and planning regarding education, research, and institutional and societal engagement as well as the embedding in the bigger picture are discussed • a trial lesson on a subject in the relevant field • a screening of leadership and interpersonal skills • a vision and ambition document in the evaluation, the complementarity of expertise and the compatibility of the profile within the department and faculty play an important role ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS You hold a thesis‑based doctorate or a diploma or certificate that is recognised as equivalent. You have at least two years of post‑doctoral experience on 1 September 2026. This term of two years is determined by the date mentioned on the required diploma. Your application meets the formal requirements (submitted on time, complete: with a completed application form and a copy of the diploma, delivered via e‑recruitment). HOW TO APPLY Apply online through the e‑recruitment system before the application deadline (see above). We do not accept late or incomplete applications, or applications that are not sent through the online system. Your application must include the following documents: In the field ‘Application form’: the application form + any attachments merged into one pdf file. Additional documents may be requested from shortlisted candidates. In the field ‘Diploma’: a transcript of your doctoral degree. If you have a foreign diploma in a language other than our national languages (Dutch, French or German) or English, please add a translation in one of the mentioned languages. In the field ‘Certificate of equivalence’: only for diplomas awarded outside the European Union: certificate of equivalence (NARIC ) (if already in you possession). For diplomas awarded in the UK before January 31st of 2020, a certificate of equivalence is not required. Note that the maximum file size for each field is 10 MB. MORE INFORMATION For further information regarding this vacancy, please contact professor Bert Callewaert (bert.callewaert@UGent.be , +32 9 332 50 26) at the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, department of Biomolecular Medicine. Do you have a question regarding the online application process? Please read the FAQ or contact us via selecties@ugent.be . #J-18808-Ljbffr