Post Doctoral Fellow - Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology

The Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology at West Virginia University Research Corporation is currently accepting applications for a Post Doctoral Fellow position with the School of Medicine.

About the Opportunity

Dr. Hu's laboratory at WVU advocates for innovative uses of large language model (LLM) chatbots in education, research, and clinical domains. We believe that generative AI is poised to revolutionize bioinformatics and biomedical informatics data analysis. Our cutting-edge research with LLMs is reflected in our recent publications with PMIDs: 37378043, 37482573, 39042885, 39098661, 38562449, 38862428, 38580746, 39602035, and 39894364.

The position will design innovative LLM-based algorithms to facilitate medical diagnosis with enhanced accuracy and interpretability. The end goal is to create a state-of-the-art biomedical informatics agent to facilitate medical diagnosis based on text and image inputs. Potential projects are on use cases in dermatology, pathology, or emergency medicine.

At WVU Research Corporation, we strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU Research Corporation offers a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of options to suit your needs:

• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• Paid Time off (PTO)
• 403(b) retirement savings with a fully vested 3% employee contribution match, (Employees have the option of contributing an additional 1-3% of their earnings to the plan, which is also matched by the WVURC)
• A range of health insurance and other benefits
• Dependent Education Scholarship
• WVU Perks

What You'll Do

• Algorithm Development: Design, draft, validate, and optimize GPT-based algorithms developed for improved performance in diagnosis and explanations with text and image as inputs.
• GUI Creation: Develop user-friendly GUIs through API calls to remote LLM models
• Knowledgebase Establishment: Accumulate and document diverse use cases, forming a comprehensive knowledgebase for prompt bioinformatics.
• Prototype Development: Craft a locally deployable chatbot prototype by fine-tuning an open-source LLM for potential clinical applications.
• Collaborative Data Analysis: Assist LLM applications across the university, ensuring strict adherence to safety protocols.
• Knowledge Transfer: Share skills, code, and insights acquired in this role with other members in the lab.
• Detailed Record Keeping: Maintain detailed logs of work-related activities, capturing lab methods, procedures, and results for both in-house and collaborative research endeavors.
• Reporting & Presentation: Prepare and present computational findings to the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-mentor, at conferences, and for publications.
• Manuscript Assistance: Support the PI in drafting and refining research manuscripts for publication.

• A PhD in machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), image processing, bioinformatics, or a closely related discipline.
• A minimum of 0-6 months of related experience including a publication record of first author peer-reviewed publication(s) on machine learning and LLM applications in bioinformatics or biomedical informatics.
• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Programming Expertise: Proficient in languages such as C++, Python, R, and others.
• LLM Application Insight: Familiarity with the contemporary uses of LLM in clinical scenarios.
• Statistical & ML Acumen: Proficient in statistical modeling and/or machine learning techniques.
• Biology Knowledge: Fundamental understanding of molecular and cell biology concepts.
• Collaborative Spirit: Effective collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, including co-investigators and researchers.
• Language Proficiency: Strong communication skills in English.
• Scientific Approach: Expertise in applying scientific rules and methods to solve challenges.
• Strategic Planning: Ability to strategize for the progression of research programs.
• Documentation Skills: Proficiency in recording data analysis procedures and presenting research outcomes.
• Research Communication: Aptitude for writing articles suitable for publications and conference presentations.
• Presentation & Writing Skills: Capable of delivering group presentations, participating actively in meetings, and communicating clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Demonstrated ability to write and edit comprehensively, tailoring style as needed, and adeptly presenting/interpreting data in various formats.
• Problem Solving: Ability to define issues, gather and assess information, pinpoint challenges, explore alternatives, and work collaboratively to find solutions in a timely manner.
• Time Management: Commitment to meeting deadlines and efficiently preparing, presenting, and reporting results.

The WVURC was created as a not-for-profit corporation in 1985 to support research (R1) at West Virginia University. We provide evaluation, development, patenting, management, and marketing services for inventions of the faculty, staff and students of the University.

The WVURC receives and administers funds awarded by external agencies for research and other activities and is responsible for helping protect intellectual property through patents, copyrights and licensing agreements for start-up companies based on University research.

West Virginia University Research Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We invite all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or Veteran status.