Doktorand*in DFG Graduiertenkolleg "Personalized Medicine with AI" (WisPerMed)

13 Doctoral Researcher Positions (f/m/d) – Full Time (100%)

Start: 1 March 2027 · Pay Group E13 TV-L · Fixed-term

Shape the future of personalized medicine with AI. Within the DFG-funded Research Training Group WisPerMed, 13 full-time positions for Doctoral Researchers (f/m/d) are available for the third cohort, starting 1 March 2027. WisPerMed brings together artificial intelligence, medical informatics, data science, psychology and clinical medicine to develop innovative approaches for knowledge- and data-based personalization of medical decision-making. Closely connected to clinical practice, the research focuses particularly on malignant melanoma and decision-making at the Point of Care (PoC).

Our vision. The digitization of medicine is generating growing volumes of heterogeneous data, from electronic patient records and laboratory analyses to medical imaging and treatment guidelines. WisPerMed trains young researchers to turn this data into structured, contextualized knowledge for personalized medical decision-making. Combining AI, medical informatics, data science, and psychology, our interdisciplinary program bridges research and clinical practice through activities such as dermatology clinic hospitation and a structured curriculum, ensuring that technological developments address the real needs of healthcare professionals and patients — become part of the team.

A unique interdisciplinary research environment. WisPerMed is a cross-institutional collaboration between:

• University Hospital Essen
• University of Duisburg-Essen
• Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts

The employment is initially limited to 36 months, with the aim of obtaining a doctorate. The participating researchers represent a broad range of expertise, including medical informatics, bioinformatics, computer science, artificial intelligence, and psychology. You will join a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative team. Your workplace will be based at one of the three participating institutions, complemented by a shared WisPerMed office in Essen.

Research topics. The available doctoral projects cover a broad range of topics, including:

• Access, integration and improvement of multimodal health data
• Agentic AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Information extraction and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Knowledge representation and clinical knowledge modeling
• Machine learning and Data Science
• Radiomics and Genomics
• Human–Computer Interaction and user-centered decision support
• Explainable and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
• Knowledge- and data-based personalization of treatment
• Clinical decision support at the Point of Care

Your tasks:

• Conduct scientific research within your interdisciplinary doctoral project and document your results
• Publish your research findings in scientific journals and present them at conferences
• Prepare and complete a doctoral thesis
• Collaborate closely in interdisciplinary working groups and with clinical partners
• Actively participate in the scientific and training activities of the WisPerMed Research Training Group

Your profile:

• Very good university degree (Master’s or Diploma) in a relevant field of study, such as Medical Informatics or Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Biotechnology or Bioengineering, Medical Technology, Psychology or a related social science, Statistics, Epidemiology or a related discipline, or an equivalent qualification
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary, research-driven work
• High degree of motivation, initiative and team orientation
• Very good command of English, written and spoken

Available research projects. The 13 doctoral projects available for the third cohort can be viewed here in full detail: wispermed.org/projects-third.

Especially relevant here: Research Project 35: Impact of Anthropomorphised Assistance Systems https://wispermed.org/project-third/rp35/ (supervised by Prof. Dr. Nicole Krämer)

Application. Please review the available doctoral projects and indicate in your motivation letter which project you would like to apply for, briefly explaining your motivation and suitability for the selected project. Please submit the following application documents:

• Motivation letter, indicating the doctoral project(s) you would like to apply for and briefly explaining your motivation and suitability
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Transcript of records/overview of grades from your Bachelor’s and Master’s studies
• Master’s thesis, if available

Please submit your complete application within 4 weeks after publication of this advertisement and electronically by e-mail to:

Katarzyna Borys
Coordinator WisPerMed
University Hospital Essen
Research Training Group WisPerMed
E-mail: WisPerMed[at]uk-essen.de

Participation in part-time employment is governed by the University Part-Time Employment Ordinance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The University of Duisburg-Essen strives to promote the diversity of its members. If two candidates are equally qualified, women will be given preference as stipulated in the Equal Opportunities Act of North Rhine-Westphalia (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz; LGG NRW). Applications from qualified candidates with disabilities or equivalent status as defined in Section 2 (3) of Book IX of the German Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch; SGB IX) are expressly encouraged.