Digital Twin Innovation Hub Temporary Staff Scientist Positions

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Posted on Dec 5, 2024
Working Title Digital Twin Innovation Hub Temporary Staff Scientist Positions
Department Biochemistry-0831
Requisition Number S_241154
Posting Open Date 12/04/2024
Application Review Date: (To ensure consideration, please submit all application materials before review date)
Posting Close Date 12/31/2025
Open Until Filled Yes
Description of Work
Join our team and build the future of personalized medicine, changing the way diseases are understood, and therapies are customized to the individual.

We are building the first-ever Immune Digital Twin – a personalizable computer replica of the immune system – to enable everyone and anyone to assess and optimize the health of their immune system and simulate and predict its future ability to respond to diseases.

Why the immune system? The human immune system is the consummate starting point for biological twin development because of its broad medical significance. It spans every level of biological organization: genes, metabolism, cells, blood, tissues, organs, etc. It is implicated in 80+ autoimmune diseases, 400+ primary immune disorders, thousands of immune-inducing allergens, and millions of annual infections, and is further implicated in a much broader spectrum of systemic biological responses, including chronic diseases, wound healing, and trauma responses. It is also one of the most complex human systems.

To fully understand the etiology and pathology of systemic diseases, Digital Twin Innovation Hub is developing technology capable of integrating multiple mathematical approaches to fully represent and predict the governing mechanisms at each biological level and simultaneously across all levels to develop a Digital Twin of the human immune system. Integration with state-of-the-art computing and artificial intelligence is needed because the algorithms used to simulate and interrogate the dynamics for even one cell type – which can comprise billions of individual cells – are computationally expensive to solve for even a fraction of the actual cell count. Digital Twin Innovation Hub is also developing advanced visualizations that can represent the intricacies of the immune system while facilitating engagement with the technology by multidisciplinary audiences.

Our team is composed of computational- and experimental scientists, and software- and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning engineers. Want to leverage your skills to usher in the era of personalized disease modeling?

The Digital Twin Innovation Hub is currently seeking skilled and experienced individuals to fulfill a variety of full-time temporary staff roles including:

  • Multi-scale Modeling / Computational Biologist / Bioinformatician – Research Scientist
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) – Research Scientist
  • Experimental Immunologist – Research Scientist
Pay rate varies by position, based on the duties, and shall be determined by HR prior to formal offer.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is consistently recognized as a top employer by Forbes, offering a supportive work environment, robust professional development, and comprehensive benefits, making UNL the premier choice for career growth in the state.
We invest in our employees through benefits like:
  • Vacation and sick pay
  • Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
We are looking for talented individuals like you to join our team and make a difference!

Temporary employees may be appointed for a period of up to two years. Those appointed for more than six months are eligible for benefits from the beginning of the appointment, provided the position is half-time (.50FTE) or greater. Those appointed for six months or less are not eligible for benefits. Benefits for eligible temporary employees include the following: health, dental, vision and life insurance.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse populations we serve. The university fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. As an EO/AA employer, qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation. See: http://www.unl.edu/equity/notice-nondiscrimination.
Minimum Required Qualifications
For all positions:
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary team.
  • Excellent communication skills.
  • Ability to work on site in Lincoln, NE.

Multi-scale Modeling / Computational Biologist / Bioinformatician – Research Scientist (Temporary)
  • PhD in computational biology, systems biology, bioinformatics, biological engineering, biophysics, mathematics, or related field plus two (2) years of post-degree experience in computational systems modeling, simulation, and analytics; OR
  • Master’s degree in computational biology, systems biology, bioinformatics, biological engineering, biophysics, or related field plus four (4) years of post-degree experience in computational systems modeling, simulation, and analytics.
  • Experience with agent-based, biophysical modeling, or multi-scale modeling; OR
  • Experience with analyzing multi-omics data (e.g., single cell and/or spatial transcriptomics, metabolomics, etc), computational biology, disease biomarkers, immune profiling is required
  • Advanced computational and programming competence (e.g. Python, MATLAB, or R) is required.
  • Advanced data collection, interpretation, and report writing skills are required.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) Research Scientist (Temporary)
  • PhD in systems biology, AI, ML, engineering, mathematics, biological engineering, biophysics, or related field plus two (2) years of post-degree experience designing and applying AI/ML methods; OR
  • Master’s degree in systems biology, AI, ML, engineering, biological engineering, biophysics, or related field plus four (4) years of post-degree experience designing and applying AI/ML methods
  • Experience working with immunological, clinical (including medical health records), or human biological data (e.g., -omics, flow cytometry, etc.) is required.
  • Advanced forecasting, data collection, interpretation, and analytical skills are required.
  • Advanced competence in multiple approaches, such as neural ODEs, LLMs, bayesian, Lasso, large language models, and ensembling methods is required

Experimental Immunologist Research Scientist (Temporary)
  • PhD in immunology, pathology, virology, microbiology, or related field plus two (2) years of post-degree experience; OR
  • Master’s degree in immunology, pathology, virology, microbiology, or related field plus four (4) years of post-degree experience;
  • Diagnostic lab experience in ELISA, immunoassays, microbiology, and biochemistry is required;
  • Experience working on research projects pertaining to human immunology is required
Preferred Qualifications
Multi-scale Modeling / Computational Biologist / Bioinformatician – Research Scientist (Temporary)
  • Experience with clinical-level drug development processes is preferred.
  • Experiencing working with software developers is preferred.

Experimental Immunologist Research Scientist (Temporary)
  • Serology and hematology are preferred
  • Experience working with clinical trials, drug discovery, or pharmacokinetics is preferred
Pre-Placement Driving Record Review Required No
Physical Required No
Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) required. Subject to DOT approved pre-employment & random testing for alcohol and controlled substances. No
Criminal History Background Check Required Yes
Posted Salary Salary commensurate with education and experience
How to Apply
Click on “Apply for this Job”. You will then either create an application or edit your current application that is on file. You will be required to attach your curriculum vitae, cover letter and list of professional references as three (3) separate documents in MS Word or PDF format.
For questions or accommodations related to this position contact
Niveen Dineh
ndineh2@unl.edu
402-472-4545
Job Category (old) Managerial/Professional
Job Type Full-Time Temporary
Alternate Work Schedule (if other than 8-5)
Work Location (City, State) Lincoln, NE
Position funded by grant or other form of temporary funding? Yes
If Temporary, indicate end date
Planned Hire Date: As soon as possible.
Appointment End Date