Postdoc: Bioinformatics, ML/AI, Single-cell Biology, Molecular Medicine

Our group at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and at the AI Institute of the Medical University of Vienna combines high-throughput biology (single-cell & spatial profiling, epigenetics, CRISPR, bioengineering) with computa-tional methods (bioinformatics, machine learning, artificial intelligence) – for cancer, immunology, neurobiology, and molecular medicine.

The Position
We are looking for ambitious candidates who want to build a scientific career in bioinformatics and/or ML/AI research and its applications in biology and medicine. A typical candidate will have a background in computational sciences (bioinformatics, ML/AI, statistics, computer science, mathematics physics, engineering, etc.). We also consider applicants with a background in biology or medicine who have strong quantitative skills and a keen interest in pursuing computational projects (it is also possible to combine wet-lab and computational re-search). We provide an environment that is ideally suited for advancing academic careers (6 of 6 postdoc alumni and 3 of 4 PhD alumni of the lab have already reached principal investigator positions: https://tinyurl.com/bocklab-alumni), while also providing opportunities to engage in technology transfer and commercialization (research at CeMM has led to multiple successful spinoff companies). We are very open to candidates bringing their own ideas, while also providing a context that is exceptionally collaborative and supportive of team-oriented research. We pay a competitive postdoctoral salary (EUR 69,000 per year) that covers living expenses even for families (childcare & schools are essentially free in Vienna).

The Research Group (https://bocklab.org)
We seek to advance biomedicine with technology-driven research, combining experimental and computational approaches to understand and program epigenetic cell states and to develop cell-based therapies for cancer and immune diseases. Main areas of research include:
• Single-cell biology. Epigenetic cell states contribute broadly to the regulation of human organs. As part of the Human Cell Atlas, we use single-cell and spatial sequencing to dissect their role in tissue homeostasis and pathogenesis.
• Biotechnology. Groundbreaking discoveries are often enabled by new technology. We develop and apply innovative methods in the areas of single-cell sequencing, CRISPR screening, epigenome editing, and synthetic biology.
• Bioinformatics. Computational methods are essential for data-driven biomedical research. We develop algorithms and software for large-scale data analysis, and we pursue clinical collaborations to establish medical impact.
• Machine learning. Huge datasets pose new analytical challenges. As part of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, we develop methods for interpretable deep learning and artificial intelligence in biomedicine.
• Cell therapy. CAR T cells have shown dramatic efficacy for blood cancers and spearhead a broader shift toward person-alized cell-based therapies. We use high-throughput technology to design synthetic immune cells as therapeutics.

The Principal Investigator (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9qSsTcIAAAAJ)
Christoph Bock is a Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor of [Bio]Medical Informatics at the Medical University of Vienna. He is also the scientific coordinator of the Biomedical Sequencing Facility at CeMM, member of the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee, fellow of the European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), and co-founder of two Vienna-based start-up companies (Myllia, Neurolentech). He has received major research awards, including an ERC Starting Grant (2016-2021), an ERC Consolidator Grant (2021-2026), the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society (2009), the Overton Prize of the International Society for Computational Biology (2017), and the Erwin Schrödinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2022), and he has been included in the global list of “Highly Cited Researchers” by Clarivate Analytics (ISI Web of Science) each year since 2019.

The Host Institutions (https://www.cemm.at/research & https://meduniwien.ac.at/ai)
The CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is one of Europe’s leading biomedical research institutes. In recent years, CeMM researchers published >10 papers in Nature/Cell/Science/NEJM and >40 papers in Nature/Science/Cell sister journals, with a team of ~150 scientists. Research at CeMM is exceptionally collaborative and has strong focus on medical impact, based on a molecular understanding of cancer and immune diseases. A study by “The Scientist” put CeMM among the top-5 best places to work in academia worldwide. Vienna is frequently ranked the world’s best city to live. It is a United Nations city with a large English-speaking community. The Medical University of Vienna is Europe’s largest medical school and one of the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1365 as the medical faculty of the University of Vienna, and it has operated as an autonomous university since 2004. Within the universi-ty’s data science department, the Institute of Artificial Intelligence focuses on machine learning / artificial intelligence in for biomedical research and clinical applications.

Please apply via the call of the CeMM Postdoc Program, with the application materials outlined here: https://cemm.at/join-cemm/open-positions/lzzp0c9wv9pn66ugn2679wf1q7rkc2x/. All applications received by 4 June 2025 will be considered. Start dates are very flexible.