Legal Researcher / Postdoctoral Researcher in Digital Health Law, Artificial Intelligence and Health Data Governance KU Leuven in Belgium

KU Leuven is seeking a full-time Legal Researcher / Postdoctoral Researcher in Digital Health Law, Artificial Intelligence and Health Data Governance to join the Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy Research Unit in Leuven, Belgium. The role sits at the intersection of law, artificial intelligence, digital health, biomedical research, and European regulatory policy, with a strong emphasis on the legal, ethical, and societal implications (ELSI) of emerging health technologies.

The successful candidate will contribute to European projects focused on Virtual Human Twins (VHT) and artificial intelligence in medical imaging. The work covers legal analysis, compliance assessment, governance design, stakeholder engagement, and the creation of educational and training materials. You will help develop practical guidance for researchers, developers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers, while also contributing to project deliverables, policy recommendations, scientific publications, and conference abstracts.

For the VHT project, responsibilities include analysing the legal and ethical framework for digital representations of human health or disease, assessing compliance with relevant European legislation such as the GDPR, AI Act, European Health Data Space (EHDS), and Data Governance Act, and contributing to governance models for responsible health data use and sharing. For the medical imaging project, responsibilities include analysing secondary use and sharing of medical images, supporting trustworthy and legally compliant AI governance, and helping create policies and best practices for project partners.

More broadly, the position involves monitoring developments in European law and policy relating to digital health, AI, and health data governance; conducting literature reviews and comparative legal analyses; preparing guidance documents and training resources; and representing KU Leuven in meetings, workshops, conferences, and stakeholder events. The role also includes collaboration with international consortium partners and, where appropriate, contribution to the supervision of Master's students and junior researchers.

The appointment level depends on qualifications. Candidates with a Master's degree in Law (or equivalent legal qualification) may be appointed as a Researcher, while candidates with a PhD in Law or a closely related discipline may be appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher. Strong analytical and legal writing skills, excellent communication and presentation abilities, and the capacity to explain complex legal and ethical concepts to multidisciplinary audiences are important. Experience in teaching, training, public speaking, stakeholder workshops, Horizon Europe, or other EU-funded research projects is considered an advantage. Excellent written and spoken English is required.

The appointment is offered as a full-time position for an initial one-year contract, with the possibility of extension subject to positive evaluation and project funding. Applications are due by 15 September 2026 according to the advertisement text, while the job details list a deadline of 20 September 2026. Interested applicants should use the KU Leuven application link and may contact Janos Meszaros for further information.