The Foundation Asile des Aveugles (FAA) is a private institute composed, among other of the Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital and research center, which is closely linked to Lausanne University (UNIL) and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Ideally situated along the Leman lake in Lausanne’s city center, it’s close to the campus that brings together over 120 nationalities.
As an employer, FAA encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsability.
We are looking for
The candidates will work within an interdisciplinary team working on a large (multi-team, multimillion) Sinergia project by the title “Connecting properties of the micro- and macrovasculature from multimodal imaging through genetics and deep learning to better understand vascular pathomechanisms and predict disease risk”.
The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
The team includes four research groups: the Computational Biology Group (https://unil.ch/CBG) at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the Laboratory for Research in Neuroimaging (https://unil.ch/LREN) at the cantonal University Hospital Centre (CHUV), the Erasmus Medical Center (https://www.erasmusmc.nl/en/) in Rotterdam (EMC) and our own team at the “Plateforme de Recherche en Imagerie Oculaire” (Platform RIO) of the Jules Gonin Eye Hospital.
Our Sinergia project aims at providing an extensive analysis of vascular properties of the retina and link them to those from other organs, such as the brain or the heart. We will use genetic information about such properties to investigate the biological mechanisms that link vascular properties to CVD. Using machine learning, including Deep learning approaches, we will test whether we can predict CVD risk in the general population, based on vascular properties derived from multi-organ imaging and genetic information. Each year cardiovascular diseases (CVD) cause 3.9 million deaths in Europe, amounting to 45% of all deaths. While certain risk factors like age, smoking and hypertension have been well documented, the impact of blood vessel characteristics is poorly understood. Vascular properties — such as shape and size of the blood vessels — can be investigated with non-invasive and inexpensive imaging methods in some organs, including the retina. For example, the bendiness (also known as “tortuosity”) of retinal vessels has been shown to be associated with increased risk of CVD. However, the extent to which vascular properties extracted from retinal images reflect those of other body parts has not been studied systematically.
Our findings have the potential to increase our understanding of the pathological mechanisms leading to CVD and provide tools for the detection of presymptomatic vascular modifications that can support early diagnosis of vascular diseases.
Your responsabilities
- Design, development and application of computational approaches to analyse large-scale data, including medical images, patient’s health-related information and genotypes
- Co-supervision of interns and Jr. Data Scientists working on related projects in the context of the “Plateforme de Recherche en Imagerie Oculaire”
- Cooperate with other partners in the grant (UNIL, CHUV, EMC)
Your qualifications
- PhD in Computer Science/Data Science or related fields. Applicants with a background in Life Science are also welcome to apply, provided they can demonstrate previous experience in computational biology and/or analysis of large-scale data
- Machine learning, Deep learning, Image processing and computer vision, Bioinformatics
- Scientific writing: proven publication record
- Good knowledge in programming and statistics
- Fluency in English (oral and written), French is an advantage
- Flexible, adaptable, multi-skilled, solutions oriented, well organized and reliable
- Self-sufficient, self-reflective capacities, conscientiousness, able to work under pressure and to assess the risks
- Listening skills, ability to communicate with all the groups and to argue and be able to give feedbacks
What the position offers you
To work with interdisciplinary, multicultural and dynamic groups. Opportunities for personal development and professional training.
Job information
Expected start date : as soon as possible, ideally 01.03.2023
Contract length : contract from March 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Activity rate: 100%
Workplace: Fondation Asile des Aveugles in Lausanne
Contact for further information
For further information please contact Mattia Tomasoni, mail: mattia.tomasoni@fa2.ch
Christine Gonthier Lopez, HR Business Partner, phone: 0041 21 626 80 60
Your application
Applications will include a cover letter, CV, list of publications, and the names of at least three references.
Only applications online will be taken into account, https://emploi.ophtalmique.ch