Junior Professor Chair in AI for Precision Medicine and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

Junior Professor Chair in AI for Precision Medicine and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

The Inria Centre at the University of Lille invites outstanding early-career researchers to express their interest in the ENDOMIC-AI Junior Professor Chair: Artificial Intelligence for the Endotyping of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases.

This six-year position offers an exceptional opportunity to establish and lead an ambitious interdisciplinary research programme at the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital health, precision medicine, immunology and systems biology.

The successful candidate will join a highly collaborative research environment involving Inria, the University of Lille, Inserm and Lille University Hospital. The position is based at the Inria Centre at the University of Lille, in the Hauts-de-France region.  

Scientific project

Chronic inflammatory diseases are highly heterogeneous, making diagnosis, treatment selection and clinical trials particularly challenging. The ENDOMIC team (https://endomic.github.io) aims to develop artificial intelligence and statistical-learning methods capable of identifying robust and clinically meaningful disease endotypes from heterogeneous, multimodal and longitudinal data.

The research may involve:

• clinical and biological data;
• electronic health records;
• omics: genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics;
• cellular and medical imaging;
• longitudinal cohorts and functional assessments.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the interpretability, robustness, generalisability and fairness of AI models, including the identification and mitigation of algorithmic bias.

The chairholder will have access to outstanding clinical and research resources, including the INCLUDE Health Data Warehouse, which has collected CHU Lille patient data since 2008, as well as reference cohorts, biobanks and omics and cellular-imaging platforms. The project will also benefit from the FHU PRECISE ecosystem connecting to other university hospitals (https://www.fhu-precise.fr/la-cohorte-fhu).  

Research environment

The chair will contribute to the development of the ENDOMIC joint project team, bringing together researchers and clinicians from Inria, the University of Lille, Lille University Hospital (CHU Lille) and Inserm.

The successful candidate will benefit from connections with major national and international initiatives, including:

• the Horizon Europe THUNDER project on trust in AI in healthcare (https://thunder-msca-se.univ-lille.fr/);
• the ARCHIE “AI in Health” Chair with KU Leuven;
• the EUSTAR and ERN ReCONNET clinical networks;
• collaborations with Aarhus, Leiden, Yale, Stanford and University College London.

This environment provides strong opportunities for international collaboration, researcher mobility, doctoral and postdoctoral supervision and the development of European research projects.  

Resources

The project is expected to benefit from a research package of approximately €396,000, including funding for two doctoral (PhD) researchers, an 18-month postdoctoral researcher and research-related travel, conferences and operating costs.  

The position will also include a limited teaching commitment in partnership with higher-education institutions in Lille. The teaching programme may contribute to courses and training activities at the intersection of artificial intelligence, data science, medicine and biology, including ethical, regulatory and data-privacy issues.  

Inria Junior Professor Chairs are fixed-term contracts of three to six years, accompanied by a research package and a limited teaching commitment. Subject to a successful evaluation and the applicable statutory conditions, they provide a pathway to tenure as an Inria Senior Researcher.

Candidate profile / Qualifications

Applicants should hold a PhD or equivalent qualification and demonstrate an excellent or highly promising research record in one or more of the following areas:

• artificial intelligence and machine learning;
• statistical learning or applied mathematics;
• multimodal and longitudinal data analysis;
• computational biology, bioinformatics or digital health;
• interpretable, robust or trustworthy AI;
• fairness-aware machine learning and algorithmic-bias analysis.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the potential to:

• establish an internationally visible research programme;
• lead interdisciplinary projects involving computer scientists, clinicians and biomedical researchers;
• supervise doctoral and postdoctoral researchers;
• contribute to national, European and international research proposals;
• publish in leading international journals and conferences;
• contribute to education, open science and scientific outreach.

Experience with medical, biological, omics, imaging or heterogeneous health data would be an advantage.

There is no restriction based on age or nationality under the general Inria Junior Professor Chair scheme. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent qualification and should demonstrate the potential to supervise and lead research.  

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• develop an ambitious research programme in AI for precision medicine;
• design methods for the integration and analysis of multimodal and longitudinal health data;
• address model interpretability, robustness, generalisability, fairness and reproducibility;
• initiate and lead interdisciplinary research collaborations;
• supervise doctoral, postdoctoral and junior researchers;
• contribute to national and international funding proposals;
• publish and present results in leading scientific venues;
• participate in digital-health education and training;
• support open-science practices and the dissemination of software, data and methodological resources where appropriate.

The project is explicitly aligned with FAIR data principles, open-access publication and the reproducibility of scientific results.  

How to apply

The formal application deadline is expected to be 31 August 2026. However, candidates should make contact before this date with Prof. Vincent Sobanski (vincent.sobanski@univ-lille.fr) and Prof. Zaineb Garcia (zaineb.garcia@univ-lille.fr).

This preliminary meeting is intended to:

• assess the alignment between the candidate’s profile and ENDOMIC-AI;
• discuss and refine the proposed scientific programme;
• identify relevant clinical and methodological collaborations;
• provide guidance and support throughout the recruitment process.

Candidates should send:

• a curriculum vitae, including a publication list;
• a brief summary of their current research;
• a one-page outline of the research programme they would propose within ENDOMIC-AI;
• their expected availability for an initial meeting.

Following this preliminary stage, eligible candidates will be invited to complete the official application through Inria’s recruitment platform.

Application website

Inria Junior Professor Chairs:

https://www.inria.fr/en/chairs-junior-professor-recruitment-employment

Research field / Discipline

Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Data Science
Digital Health
Bioinformatics
Computational Biology
Biomedical Engineering
Medical Research
Applied Mathematics

Keywords

Artificial intelligence; machine learning; digital health; precision medicine; chronic inflammatory diseases; multimodal learning; longitudinal data; health data; omics; medical imaging; interpretable AI; trustworthy AI; algorithmic fairness

Benefits / What we offer

The successful candidate will benefit from:

• a six-year position with a pathway to tenure, subject to successful evaluation and statutory conditions;
• an ambitious and well-supported research programme;
• access to major clinical cohorts, health-data infrastructure, biobanks and omics and imaging platforms;
• funding for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers;
• a highly interdisciplinary environment involving computer science, medicine, immunology and systems biology;
• opportunities to develop national and European projects;
• extensive international collaborations;
• support in establishing an independent and internationally visible research programme;
• participation in advanced digital-health teaching and training initiatives.

Equal opportunities statement

Inria is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. Applications are welcomed regardless of age, nationality, gender, disability, ethnic or social background, religion, sexual orientation or family circumstances. Inria positions are accessible to candidates with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments may be provided during the recruitment process.