Research Data Scientist (AI/ML)

Job Summary:

About Us: The UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is a leader in research and innovation, dedicated to improving patient outcomes through advanced data science and analytics. We are seeking an experienced Research Data Scientist (AI/ML) for the Wisconsin Health Data Hub (WHDH), recently funded by the EDA as part of the Tech Hub (https://news.wisc.edu/federal-funds-awarded-for-biohealth-with-uw-madison-leading-the-way/) initiative, and drive transformative data science projects to enhance healthcare and research at SMPH.

Job Summary: Are you passionate about improving patient health outcomes, optimizing healthcare processes, and advancing science? Join our dynamic Informatics and Information Technology team at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin. We are committed to revolutionizing healthcare through implementation of advanced data science approaches, conducting cutting-edge data-centric research, and generating real-world evidence to improve patient health outcomes at UW Health and beyond. As a Data Scientist, the incumbent will use real world data including Electronic Health Record (EHR) data to develop and implement advanced computational algorithms and support conduct of groundbreaking data-driven research.

On a day-to-day basis, the incumbent could expect to engage in the following activities in supporting researchers that use WHDH services:
- Data Collection and Preprocessing: preprocess, and validate EHR data, ensuring data quality and reliability; and transform raw data into standard data models (OMOP, mCODE, i2b2 etc.).
- Algorithm Development and Optimization: develop and optimize advanced computational algorithms using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), regression, and rules-based models; apply AI/ML techniques to analyze EHR data, to uncover hidden biological and health patterns and gain meaningful insights; evaluate, validate, and implement AI/ML models, regression, and rules-based algorithms on UW Health EHR data; and ensure the reliability and accuracy of algorithms for production environments.
- Feature Engineering and Selection: identify key features of EHR data to enhance model performance; and apply domain-specific knowledge to identify meaningful features for predictive modeling.
- Predictive Modeling and Insights: build predictive models to forecast disease risk and progression, health outcomes and treatment effectiveness; and gain actionable insights from model outputs and communicate findings to research community.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): apply NLP techniques to extract insights from clinical notes, reports, and unstructured text data; and develop models for sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and information extraction.
- Integration and Optimization: integrate research outcomes with existing AI systems and databases to advance technological capabilities; and continuously optimize, troubleshoot, and debug AI algorithms based on research outcomes and evolving business needs.
- Stay Ahead of Emerging Technologies: keep abreast of emerging trends and advancements in AI research to propose innovative solutions to healthcare challenges.
- Collaboration and Communication: work closely with cross-functional teams, including clinicians, data scientists, data engineers, and product managers; and present research findings and recommendations in a clear and actionable manner.
- Ethical Considerations: work closely with data governance and security to ensure compliance with privacy regulations (e.g., NIST, HIPAA) when working with healthcare data; and address bias and fairness issues in AI models when dealing with sensitive health data.

Responsibilities:

Contributes to a research agenda set by a lead researcher by preparing data sets, analyzing them using data science techniques, and presenting the results. Plays a leadership role and may lead a team and/or personnel.

• 15% Prepares data sets for analysis including cleaning/quality assurance, transformations, restructuring, and integration of multiple data sources
• 15% Identifies and implements or guides others in implementing appropriate data science techniques to find data patterns and answer research questions chosen by the lead researcher including data visualization, statistical analysis, machine learning, and data mining
• 10% Organizes and automates project steps for data preparation and analysis
• 10% Composes and assembles reproducible workflows and reports to clearly articulate patterns to researchers and/or administrators
• 15% Documents approaches to address research questions and contributes to the establishment of reproducible research methodologies and analysis workflows
• 15% Serves as an institutional subject matter expert and liaison to key internal and external stakeholders regarding data science best practices and methodologies and represents the interests of data science
• 20% Develops and optimizes advanced computational algorithms using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), regression, and rules-based models

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Education:

Preferred
Terminal Degree
MD or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Informatics, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or related disciplines preferred

Qualifications:

Required:
- Extensive experience in analyzing large-scale biomedical datasets using statistical and machine learning techniques
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or MATLAB and ML libraries
- Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and collaboratively
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of scientific publications
- Detail-oriented with a commitment to data accuracy and integrity

Preferred:
- Knowledge of medical terminologies and coding systems (e.g., ICD-10, CPT) and healthcare data standards (e.g., HL7, FHIR)

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $105,000 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications
The starting salary for the position is $105,000 but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Benefits information can be found at (https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/).

SMPH Academic Staff Benefits flyer: (https://uwmadison.box.com/s/r50myohfvfd15bqltljn0g4laubuz7t0)

Additional Information:

University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship. The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. This position is an ongoing position that will require continuous work eligibility. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employ F1 STEM OPT Extension participants. If you are selected for this position you must provide proof of work authorization and eligibility to work.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply Now" button. You will be asked to upload a current resume/CV and a cover letter briefly describing your qualifications and experience.

Contact:

Cody Roekle
croekle@wisc.edu
608-263-7676
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

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Official Title:

Data Scientist III(RE061)

Department(s):

A53-MEDICAL SCHOOL/Informatics and IT

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

310540-AS

 

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, click here

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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