POSTDOCTORAL POSITION: DeepMarrow collaborative TANDEM project
Introduction
A newly funded ISREC Foundation TANDEM project is in search of a highly motivated postdoc to bring together clinicians, engineers and computational biologists to develop, train and apply an artificial intelligence-based digital histopathology workflow named DeepMarrow to contribute to outcome stratification in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The team is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and encompasses three institutions : (i) the University of Lausanne (UNIL) Faculty of Biology and Medicine, a leading public institution of higher education and research in Switzerland, (ii) the Lausanne University Hospital, repeatedly ranked as one of the 20 best academic hospitals in the world, and (iii) the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, one of the world’s most prestigious engineering, technology and science institutions. The collaborating laboratories are part of the Swiss Cancer Center Leman network (https://sccl.ch/).
Presentation
A postdoctoral position is available at the UNIL-CHUV Laboratory of Regenerative Hematopoiesis, coled by Prof. Olaia Naveiras (Department of Biomedical Sciences https://wp.unil.ch/naveiras-lab/team/ and Hematology Service Translational Research Unit https://www.chuv.ch/en/hematologie/hemhome/ research/) and by Dr. Daniel Sage at the EPFL Biomedical Imaging Group (https://bigwww.epfl.ch/). The project focuses on the study of unexplored morphological features and spatial relationships in bone marrow tissue sections from patients undergoing induction chemotherapy for AML, with benchmarking against other scenarios of intense bone marrow remodeling. Key contributing collaborators to the project are Prof. Laurence de Leval (Institute of Pathology, CHUVUNIL), Prof. Bart Deplancke (Institute of Bio-engineering, EPFL) and Prof. Sabine Blum (Service of Hematology, CHUV).
Job information
- Expected start date in position: 01.03.2025 or subject to work visa approval
- Contract duration: 24 months (12+12 months, with possibility of a 3rd year)
- Percentage of activity: 80-100%
- Location: Lausanne, UNIL-FBM (CHUV Bugnon campus)
Your responsibilities
We are looking for a rigorous, creative, and team-driven individual with a passion for and ideally already substantial expertise in image analysis and related machine learning approaches and a desire for clinical impact. The selected candidate will (i) collaborate closely with clinicians to securely structure the longitudinal bone marrow image cohort and coded clinical data associated to the three currently approved local, national and international cohorts, while (ii) developing the DeepMarrow workflow and morphological feature extraction from the available training set (doi:10.1016/j.modpat.2022.100088) and (iii) identifying specific samples for multimodal discovery analysis (multiplex immunohistochemistry and spatial transcriptomics). Guaranteed in-depth exposure to machine learning, advanced hematopathology, multimodal omics analyses including spatial transcriptomics and marrow stromal niche biology within a highly motivated and collaborative team.
Your qualifications
- PhD or MD/PhD degree in computational biology or pathology, preferably in the fields of cancer or stem cell biology
- Highly autonomous in computational analysis, skilled in image and/or transcriptomic data processing, and able to manage projects that integrate data curation and deep learning workflows.
- Wet-lab expertise in cell biology or experimental pathology (e.g. morphological tissue assessment, H&E, immunohistochemistry, primary human tissue processing) is a must.
- Prior experience in obtaining ethical approval and handling of human primary tissues, including knowledge of the legal and ethical framework (e.g. TRREE certification) will be highly valued
- Expertise in diagnostic hematopathology or experimental hematology will be highly valued
- Demonstrated capacity for project management in a highly collaborative setting is a must
- Fluency in English with outstanding oral and written communication skills.
Preference will be given to outstanding candidates with a solid record of peer-reviewed publications and/or selective international conference presentations available to start in March-April 2026.
Contact for further information
Prof. Olaia Naveiras and Dr. Daniel Sage
Email (all three please): olaia.naveiras@unil.ch, daniel.sage@epfl.ch, tatiana.smirnova.1@unil.ch
Subject line : “TANDEM DeepMarrow position”
What the position offers you
A dynamic, stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment, state-of-the-art technologies, cuttingedge core facilities, and attractive employment conditions in addition to fascinating life in Switzerland. The UNIL/CHUV medical campus and the EPFL campus are in Lausanne, in close proximity from Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps.
Your application
Applications should include a motivation letter, complete CV and at least two reference letters (including a letter from the PhD advisor, unless duly justified). Selected candidates will be contacted by mid January for interviews on Thursday January 22nd.
Please send your full application in PDF format.
Deadline for applications: January 2nd 2026
Selected candidates will be contacted and invited for interviews on January 2026. Only applications addressed to all three emails and with the specified subject line will be considered.
We thank you for your understanding.
Additional information
UNIL is committed to promoting gender equality and strongly encourages applications from female candidates.
MASTER’S THESIS POSITION:
Separation of primary cell adipocytes by Deterministic Lateral Displacement
This master thesis project focuses on the development of a novel Deterministic Lateral Displacement (DLD) platform tailored for sorting primary adipocytes obtained from human tissue biopsies. While DLD systems have demonstrated great potential in sorting various blood cell types, their application to isolating primary cells from tissue digestion remains largely unexplored. The goal of this project is to build upon a DLD device previously developed in our laboratory and expand its utility toward the efficient isolation of bone marrow adipocytes.
The thesis will involve redesigning and optimizing the existing DLD platform to accommodate the unique characteristics of primary adipocyte samples. Key objectives include adjusting the critical sorting size, modifying microfluidic geometries to manage heterogeneous cell populations, and implementing strategies to prevent chip clogging. A significant part of the project will also focus on optimizing the biological pre-processing of the tissue biopsy. This includes refining the digestion protocol to preserve fragile adipocytes, removing lipid contamination, and achieving a monophasic cell suspension suitable for microfluidic sorting. The student will work closely with both the Laboratory of Life Sciences Electronics (CLSE-EPFL) and the Laboratory of Regenerative Hematopoiesis (Naveiras group-UNIL) to iteratively test and improve both the biological and engineering aspects of the workflow.
Type of work: 10% literature study, 20% design and microfabrication, 25% cell culture and biological characterization, 25% microfluidic device testing, 20% data treatment and results reporting
Duration: 6 months
Prerequisites: Ideally, someone with a background in bioengineering, biology or chemistry, but physics or microtechnology are also welcome. A strong motivation is required regardless of your background.
Interested candidates are encouraged to contact us via email and include their CV. While a reference letter is not required, it would be considered an asset: micaela.cristofori@epfl.ch, fabien.bonini@unil.ch