Postdoc Opening

Project Overview

The research fellow will be working under the supervision of Dr. Kaize Ding and Dr. Noelle Samia in the Department of Statistics and Data Science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, in collaboration with Dr. Bonnie Martin-Harris in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the School of Communication at Northwestern University.

This AI4Health project aims to develop AI and machine learning algorithms to aid the diagnosis of swallowing disorders and improve patient outcomes in patients with dysphagia. Visual interpretation of the movements of the swallowing mechanism in relation to bolus flow and airway invasion are manually rated by clinicians. The goal of the project is to develop cutting-edge AI techniques to streamline the process by reducing subjectivity and human efforts, with high efficiency, interpretability, and reliability.

Responsibilities

  • Develop AI methodologies for addressing healthcare/medical research problems (swallowing disorders).
  • Engage in interdisciplinary research and make solid progress for the project.
  • Prepare research findings for publication in conferences and journals.
  • Assist in grant writing and funding pursuits.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Artificial Intelligence, or related field.
  • Strong background in AI and machine learning, especially on (medical) computer vision, time series/spatio-temporal learning, and AI4Health.
  • Experience with large foundation models (LLMs and MLLMs).
  • Excellent publication records, good collaboration, coding mastery, and verbal and writing communication skills.

Application Instructions

Submit the following to kaize.ding@northwestern.edu and n-samia@northwestern.edu:

  • CV
  • Cover letter
  • Two representative publications
  • Two references

Strong candidates are encouraged to apply. Funding for the position is available for two years, starting September 1, 2025, and is subject to approval by Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University.

PhD/Intern Opening

Qualifications

  • Publications/submissions (as first author) at top AI conferences.
  • Strong programming and mathematical foundations (with Math/Stats Major or Minor) are highly preferred.
  • Good English written and speaking skills (e.g., TOEFL >= 100, IELTS >= 7.0).
  • Passion for scientific research (motivation, curiosity, persistence, etc.)

I apologize that I may not be able to reply to every email. Feel free to mention me as your potential advisor in the application, and I will check every application carefully afterwards.