Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has a vacancy in the Evolutionary Intelligence research group for an enthusiastic talented
Postdoc (m/f/x)
Symbolic explainable AI and user interface design for familial hypercholesterolemia
Job description
With your research you will contribute to the development of novel risk assessment and patient stratification tools for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). This includes identifying new factors that drive disease progression. The primary focus will be on using state-of-the-art genetic programming (in particular: GP-GOMEA) for small, explainable expression discovery in combination with other machine learning techniques, to create predictive models. You will engage in an interactive feedback loop with domain experts to analyze discovered models and remove any unwanted biases. Finally, with the aim of clinical use, you will design and create a user interface that can be easily used by end users to visualize predictions and explanations for individual patients. You will work with existing FH patient cohort data sets from France, Portugal, Czech Republic, and Turkey, which will be expanded with multi-level multi-omics data, including genetic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, and cellular data.
Your core research tasks include:
- Co-developing and applying (explainable) AI techniques (particularly genetic programming)
- User interface design, development, and evaluation
- Writing scientific articles for publication in leading journals
- Presenting your research findings at international conferences
In addition to your core research tasks, you will prepare progress reports, deliverable documents, and present your project updates during internal consortium meetings and external review meetings. You will also represent your work package within the consortium, not only in formal meetings but through ongoing communication with partners across disciplines and institutions. Actively ensuring alignment and integration of your work package with the broader project goals will be essential to its success.
This position is available within the FH-EARLY project titled “New strategies for the early diagnosis, risk stratification and co-management of familial hypercholesterolemia”. This FH-EARLY project is funded within the scope of the Horizon Europe funding instrument HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) under the call: “Comparative effectiveness research for healthcare interventions in areas of high public health need - Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden” (HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-08-two-stage). With a consortium of 15 internationally leading institutions, this Horizon Europe project of 48 months, started in January 2025 aiming to enable new strategies for earlier diagnosis and co-management of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH).
Requirements
We are looking for a candidate with a doctorate in computer science, mathematics, data science, or related field with relevant experience. A strong interest in clinical applications is essential. Candidates who expect to obtain their PhD before January 2026 are also encouraged to apply.
Applicants should demonstrate proficiency in programming languages and tools commonly used in computer science. Hands-on experience with genetic programming as well as programming in C++/C is highly desirable. Excellent spoken and written English, along with strong organizational and communication skills, are required.
We are looking for someone with a genuine interest in both fundamental and applied research. The ideal candidate is flexible, self-motivated, and has a collaborative mindset. You will be closely working with experts across multiple disciplines, including computer science, bioinformatics, and medicine, as part of a large European consortium. In particular, you are expected to collaborate closely with another postdoc hired at Leiden University Medical
Terms and conditions
The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres ("CAO-onderzoeksinstellingen"). The gross monthly salary for an employee on a full time basis, depending on relevant work experience, ranges from € 4,168 to € 5,486. The position is available for a maximum of three years. The initial contract is for one year, with the possibility of renewal for up to the total of three years.
Employees are also entitled to a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. CWI offers attractive working conditions, including flexible scheduling.
Please visit our websites for more information about our terms of employment:
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/terms-of-employment and
https://www.nwo-i.nl/en/working-at-nwo-i/jobsatnwoi/
Information and application
We invite you to submit a complete application by using the “Apply” button on this page. The application should include:
- Cover letter in which you describe your personal motivation and qualifications for the position (maximum two A4s).
- Curriculum vitae, including the contact information of three referees.
- Lists of courses followed (at M.Sc. level) including obtained grades.
The deadline for applications is July 22, 2025.
Interviews are planned to be held in the first half of August 2025.
The preferred starting date is January 1, 2026. A later starting date is prohibited. Earlier starting dates can be discussed.
Both national and international applications are appreciated.
For more information about the vacancy, please contact Peter Bosman at mail to:[email protected]
For more information about CWI, please visit www.cwi.nl or watch our video about working at CWI.
Diversity code
CWI encourages a diverse workforce: we endeavour to develop talent and creativity by bringing people from different backgrounds and cultures together. We recruit and select based on capabilities and talent. We strongly encourage everyone with the appropriate qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical abilities.
About CWI
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science and is part of the Institutes Organisation of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The mission of CWI is to conduct pioneering research in mathematics and computer science, generating new knowledge in these fields and conveying it to trade, industry, and society at large.
CWI is an internationally oriented institute, with 160 scientists from approximately 27 countries, an informal atmosphere and short lines of communication. We have an activity committee that organizes after-work activities and an informal women’s network.
CWI is located at Amsterdam Science Park, which is a major location for scientific research in the Netherlands. Next to CWI, Science Park houses several other national research institutes, many startups and scale-ups, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), and the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam.
About Research group
At CWI, you will join the Evolutionary Intelligence (EI) research group. Your work will be part of a project that contributes to our research focus on explainable AI. Thereby you will become part of the national Innovation Center for AI (ICAI) lab on explainable AI for health. Within this project you are expected to work closely together with another postdoc who will be appointed at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). Your supervisors will be Prof.dr. Peter A.N. Bosman, who is leading the Evolutionary Intelligence research group at CWI, and Dr. Tanja Alderliesten, who is leading the AI-based Innovations research group at LUMC.
