Doctoral Researcher in Foundation Health Models University of Turku in Finland

The University of Turku’s Department of Computing in the Faculty of Technology is inviting applications for a full-time Doctoral Researcher position in Foundation Health Models. The role is part of the FINe-Health Foundry project, which aims to develop a nationwide, versatile foundation health model using Finland’s national health databases.

This PhD position is well suited to candidates interested in medical AI, clinical foundation models, machine learning, and large-scale health data. The research will focus on one of three areas: pretraining foundation health models on nationwide health databases and longitudinal electronic health records; medical reasoning and grounding, including post-training methods that improve factuality, safety, and alignment with medical knowledge graphs and clinical instructions; or agentic methods for virtual labs, where medical professionals can audit and align LLM-powered medical agents with clinical guidelines.

The successful candidate will work in an interdisciplinary team and collaborate with academic experts and industrial partners across Finland and Europe. Responsibilities include designing and implementing state-of-the-art foundation health models and clinical reasoning algorithms, contributing to project reporting, and taking part in academic life through supervision of MSc and Bachelor students and teaching assistance.

Applicants should hold an MSc in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a closely related quantitative field, or in exceptional cases be very close to completing such a degree. Strong programming ability, experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or Hugging Face, and good written and spoken English are expected. The candidate must also be eligible for doctoral study rights at the University of Turku and should apply for the next available Autumn 2026 intake to the Doctoral Programme in Technology. Supporting documents may include IELTS or TOEFL evidence.

The position begins by mutual agreement and runs until 30 September 2029, with a possibility of extension. Before study-right approval, the job title will be Project Researcher; in exceptional near-completion cases, it may start as Research Assistant. The starting salary for a doctoral/project researcher is approximately 2500–2700 euros per month, depending on experience and qualifications, and a six-month trial period applies.

Applications must be submitted through the online recruitment system by 17 August 2026 at 16:00 (Europe/Helsinki). Required application materials include a motivation letter, CV, list of publications, degree certificates with translations, and any other relevant supporting documents.