Roche Postdoctoral Fellow (RPF) in Data Science, Actigraphy

Job description

The Position

In Roche’s Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development organisation (pRED), we make transformative medicines for patients in order to tackle some of the world’s toughest unmet healthcare needs. At pRED, we are united by our mission to transform science into medicines. Together, we create a culture defined by curiosity, responsibility and humility, where our talented people are empowered and inspired to bring forward extraordinary life-changing innovation at speed.

Job Mission

As a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Roche Pharma Research and Early Development Data and Analytics Department, you will focus on exploring the progression of Huntington’s Disease through data collected via digital sensors during passive monitoring.

This position is sponsored by the Roche Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme. The RPF Programme has the ambition to build and maintain the Scientific Leadership of the future and to provide leading Roche scientists with the opportunity to collaborate with dedicated postdoctoral researchers, and leading academic research groups, from around the world. One of the key aims is to advance basic science and technologies that will be published in top-rated, peer-reviewed scientific journals, if necessary preceded by priority patent applications.

As a postdoctoral fellow, you will be supervised by scientists at Roche, as well as an independent academic partner who is an eminent neurologist in the field of Huntington’s Disease in London, UK. 

The duration of the RPF project is initially set for two years, with the possibility of extension for a third year. You will be based in Basel with stays at our academic partner.

Your Impact

You will be working with a large dataset of passive monitoring data and associated datasets that have been collected during Huntington's Disease studies. The goal of the project is to identify both motor symptoms, such as chorea, and to quantify everyday function, such as mobility, to build candidate measures for disease progression.

• Collaborate with the host teams and other partners to develop and evaluate potential analysis techniques and applications.

• Design, build, and interpret data analysis algorithms to address selected research questions, including data pre-processing.

• Prepare scientific communication content (presentations, reports, conference abstracts, and manuscripts) to share the results with a wider community.

Your Profile

You are a PhD degree graduate in a Data Science related field (e.g., Statistics, Computer Science, Biomechanics, Biomedical engineering). You have very good interpersonal skills, are able to build good working relationships, and are an outstanding teammate. Your experience and investigative attitude allow you to work independently, to design, perform, and interpret experiments, and to embark on new scientific methodologies.

You have been actively engaged in scientific research continuously since your PhD and are ready to start an RPF postdoctoral activity no later than 4 years after completing your PhD.

You have experience and expertise in the following:

• Advanced analytics skills, especially on high-frequency time series data.

• Actigraphy experience for clinical and health applications (movement disorders, stroke rehabilitation, gerontology).

• Extensive experience with raw sensor data, e.g., acquired via inertial measurement units (IMUs) and signal processing tools.

• Strong Python and/or R programming skills.

• Proven publication track record on relevant topics.

Additional Experience and Competencies Preferred:

• Experience with Huntington’s Disease or other neurological diseases affecting motor function.

• Experience with distributed/grid computing environments.

• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

• Experience in reproducible research and coding practices.

When does it start?
The start date of this fellowship is in May 2024, or on availability. Please clearly indicate your preferred starting date on your motivation letter.
All applications always need to include a CV, motivation letter, a publication list and if available, a copy of your PhD certificate.

If you still have questions, then please check our FAQs and videos on careers.roche.ch/faq

More information about the RPF Programme: https://careers.roche.com/global/en/the-roche-postdoctoral-fellowship-programme

Our commitment

Roche commits to recognizing talent and aptitude. We prioritize encouraging and supporting our employees on their personal journeys by providing a safe, creative space to help them reflect, make decisions, and grow in their careers. We are confident that we find the most innovative solutions by gaining different perspectives, asking and answering hard questions, and challenging the status quo. Roche embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious yet enthusiastic way; we are devoted to building a team that represents a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

Tags: RPF, Huntington’s Disease, HD, actigraphy, passive monitoring, digital sensors, data science, time series analysis, sensor data analysis, advanced analytics

Who we are

At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity and diversity.

Basel is the headquarters of the Roche Group and one of its most important centres of pharmaceutical research. Over 10,700 employees from over 100 countries come together at our Basel/Kaiseraugst site, which is one of Roche`s largest sites. Read more.

Besides extensive development and training opportunities, we offer flexible working options, 18 weeks of maternity leave and 10 weeks of gender independent partnership leave. Our employees also benefit from multiple services on site such as child-care facilities, medical services, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as various employee events.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion, and strive to identify and create opportunities that enable all people to bring their unique selves to Roche.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.