DDLS Research Fellowship in Biodiversity and Evolution

About the workplace
The Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) is a major research institute located in Stockholm (www.nrm.se). The NRM research activities combine venerable tradition and modern scientific methods, where state-of-the-art equipment and dedicated laboratories enable high-quality research on a broad range of natural history topics. NRM is also one of the main users of the world-leading research infrastructures at the Science for Life Laboratory in Stockholm, a centre for large-scale life-sciences. NRM has a close collaboration with nearby Stockholm University, which includes joint supervision of PhD students. At an international level, the museum has taken a prominent role in several collaborative initiatives, such as CETAF, DiSSCo, GBIF, FishBase, CBOL and IUCN.
Data-driven life science (DDLS) uses data, computational methods and artificial intelligence to study biological systems and processes at all levels, from molecular structures and cellular processes to human health and global ecosystems. The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) aims to recruit and train the next-generation of data-driven life scientists and to create globally leading computational and data science capabilities in Sweden. The program is funded with a total of 3.1 billion SEK (about 290 MUSD) over 12 years from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg (KAW) Foundation.
The DDLS program will recruit 39 high-profile young group leaders and launch over 210 postdoctoral positions and establish a research school for 260 PhDs, including industry PhDs and postdocs. Fellows will be recruited to the 11 participating host universities/organizations, but brought together under a national DDLS program coordinated by SciLifeLab. The DDLS program has four strategic areas: cell and molecular biology, evolution and biodiversity, precision medicine and diagnostics, epidemiology and biology of infection. For more information, please see http://www.scilifelab.se/data-driven.
During 2022-2023, the first round of 20 young group leaders joined us as DDLS Fellows, and now we are looking to recruit an additional group of 19 fellows. Each DDLS Fellow will receive a recruitment package of 17 MSEK (about 1.6 MUSD) for a 5-year period, covering their own salary and other resources, such as two PhD students and postdoc positions. The Fellow positions are tenure-track with the host organizations assuming responsibility of the long-term faculty appointments following a tenure evaluation.
The future of life science is data-driven. Will you be leading that change with us? Then join us in this unique program!
Work tasks
NRM is looking to fill a position as DDLS fellow in Biodiversity and Evolution. Data driven evolution and biodiversity concerns research that takes advantage of the massive data streams offered by techniques such as high-throughput sequencing of genomes and biomes, continuous recording of video and audio in the wild, high-throughput imaging of biological specimens, and large-scale remote monitoring of organisms or habitats.
The subject area concerns research in the general area of evolution and biodiversity with a strong computational profile. This research subject area aims to lead to innovative development and/or application of novel data-driven methods relying on machine learning, artificial intelligence, or other computational techniques.
More specifically, at NRM this research will be aimed at developing a deeper and dynamic understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem change, and to enable predictions of environmental change in global and local ecosystems. This research comprises analyses of, and/or developing methods to analyse, large-scale datasets within biodiversity or evolution. The scientific topics includes the development and evolution of life, biodiversity and environmental research. From a methodological perspective, examples of such research include analyses of large-scale data within phylogenetics, population genetics or metagenomics, as well as image analysis or research on morphological and distributional data.
Qualifications
In order to qualify for the DDLS Research Fellowship, the applicant must have completed a doctoral degree in Sweden or have an equivalent degree from another country. Since the DDLS Fellowships are aimed at early career researchers, having completed a PhD degree within the last eight years will constitute an important merit. During the selection process, special attention will be given to research excellence within the field of DDLS in biodiversity and evolution. The applicants will also be evaluated on the basis of the planned research within the subject field, as well as on experience in leadership and student supervision and their track record in obtaining research grants.
Research that requires facilities other than those available within the Swedish Museum of Natural History will not be prioritized if the museum thereby incurs extra costs.
Scope of employment
The candidate will be employed as researcher until further notice, but no longer than five years. The contract may be extended under special circumstances, such as due to sick leave or parental leave. The successful DDLS candidate will be employed at the department within the museum that best fits the candidates research profile.
The DDLS Fellows at NRM will, upon a successful evaluation of their achievements during the project period, be offered the opportunity for their employment to be transformed into a permanent researcher position financed by NRM. Researchers employed at the NRM, including DDLS Fellows, also have the opportunity to apply for promotion to full professor.
The first five years are funded through a grant from the Wallenberg Foundation. Each recruitment package from the Wallenberg Foundation has a budget of 17M SEK to cover salary for 5 years as DDLS Fellow, two PhD positions and two postdoc positions, as well as running costs. The positions are tenure-track, and the respective hosting universities/organizations take long-term responsibility of tenured group leaders. Further information can be found at https://www.scilifelab.se/data-driven