Group Leader - AI in Biology

About the role

EMBL AI is EMBL's ambitious new initiative aiming to exploit the full potential of AI-based approaches to advance scientific discovery. EMBL AI will host new AI research groups and data engineering teams, supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure, along with fellowship and skills development programmes that bridge AI and life sciences. EMBL AI groups will be embedded in a world-class environment of biological researchers covering a broad range of biological areas, from molecules to ecosystems. EMBL has already established itself as a global leader in AI-driven innovation in biology research, with successes in areas including genomics, structural biology (e.g., AlphaFold), biomarker discovery, and imaging. EMBL hosts the world's largest repository of biological data, the European Bioinformatics Institute ( EMBL-EBI ), and has excellent pan-institutional data management, data science and open science infrastructures. Our goal is to build a dynamic community of AI specialists working alongside life science researchers, together creating innovative AI-based methods to address fundamental questions in biology and drive scientific breakthroughs. Discover more on our web page and explore our current research groups. Scientific context and strategic fit EMBL's long-term scientific direction, Molecules to Ecosystems , aims to advance our understanding of ecosystems at the molecular level, applying expertise in molecular biology to study life in its natural context. Research areas include applying experimental, computational and theoretical approaches to study how cells and organisms interact with each other and respond to fluctuating environments. EMBL has a track record in establishing landmark data resources in these different areas ( EMBL-EBI ), leads in managing digital infrastructures, and operates a dedicated Data Science Center for handling complex primary biological data types across the institute. We are interested in hosting scientists, who can enhance these biological areas using AI-based approaches and technological innovations. We welcome proposals that integrate ML/AI with model-driven experimentation, lab automation or study sampling, as well as those that advance machine learning methodology and theoretical concepts. Possible research areas include: machine learning foundations, generative modelling, foundation models, cross-domain/-modality learning, explainable AI and mechanistic interpretability, representation learning, Bayesian inference, causal inference, active learning, AI-based agents in the scientific process. You will use AI to enhance biological discoveries in any area of biology. Incoming groups will be able to collaborate with scientists across EMBL's scientific units , sites and cross-cutting research topics , and have access to unique biodata, biotechnologies, and a wide range of expertise in biological research. Example topics for interactions with the scientific units in Heidelberg include multi-modal data integration towards whole-cell models, prediction of protein function and protein-ligand interactions ( Molecular Systems Biology ), regulatory networks, single-cell and spatial omics, precision medicine ( Genome Biology ), multi-scale models in space and time for organelles and cells ( Cell Biology and Biophysics ) or collectives of unicellular and multicellular organisms ( Developmental Biology ). Your role You will: Lead an independent research group at EMBL AI's Heidelberg Hub to pursue exciting, ambitious and original research in the broad domain of AI for biology. Create an innovative research program developing or adapting cutting-edge AI techniques to address important biological questions. Bring your perspective and unique vision to science in an intellectually stimulating, collaborative, interdisciplinary and highly international environment. Your profile You should have an exciting research plan for your future team. You have an excellent research record in AI, a PhD in a relevant field , and an interest in AI applications to biology. Previous experience in biology is not required, but a strong interest in interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. Key competencies Scientific Excellence and Vision - you have the potential to develop groundbreaking ideas and contribute to shaping the future of their field. Original and Innovative Thinking - you are curious and intellectually creative to approach important research questions from new and original pers

Benefits

Additional Information

Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in AI for Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a visionary scientist to establish their own independent research group bridging innovations in machine learning/AI with modern biology at the AI Hub Heidelberg as part of EMBL AI, a major institutional initiative to embed AI across all areas of life sciences. EMBL provides a unique environment for young scientists to conduct groundbreaking research and technology development across the life sciences.

Your Match

How well this role fits your profile.

Company Intel

What employees say

Worked at embl? Share your experience