Bakar Research Investigator in Computational Biomedicine

Bakar Research Investigator in Computational Biomedicine

Position Description

The Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (BTS) seeks individuals for appointment to the Bakar Computational Biomedicine Institute (BCBI), a joint institute of UC Berkeley and UCSF. The positions will be Bakar Research Investigators in Computational Biomedicine. This is an independent research position, not a conventional postdoctoral appointment. Bakar Research Investigators hold principal investigator status, set their own scientific direction, and receive substantial dedicated annual research funding to pursue ambitious projects of their own design. Appointments are for up to four years and will have access to resources and collaborations across both institutes.

How This Position Fits in the BCBI Vision

BCBI recruits at two levels, and the two programs are intended for different candidates.

Candidates for this position, as a Bakar Research Investigator, should be ready for independence now. They arrive with a concrete vision for their own research program, they define their own questions, and they hold the funding to pursue them. A Bakar Research Investigator is not assigned to a faculty member’s laboratory, is not hired onto a predefined project, and is not a supervised trainee.

In contrast, candidates seeking a mentored training position should apply to the Bakar Postdoctoral Fellows Program, which is designed for early-career scientists who work with designated computational mentors as they build toward independence.

What the Position Provides

• Principal investigator status, with the ability to apply for and hold extramural funding.
• An appointment of up to four years.
• Substantial dedicated annual research funding, sufficient to support personnel, computing, and experimental collaborations.
• Access to research resources, core facilities, and collaborators at both UCSF and UC Berkeley.
• Membership in the BCBI scientific community, including cross-disciplinary research meetings, workshops, and annual retreats.

Who We Seek

Bakar Research Investigators will be computational innovators who develop new AI, machine learning, statistical, and other computational methods motivated by important problems in biology and medicine. They will lead independent research programs. We also expect them to enrich BCBI’s broader computational community, contributing new ideas and expertise to collaborations with experimental and biomedical researchers, and catalyzing research across labs, disciplines, and campuses. UC Berkeley will also conduct separate searches for Bakar Research Investigators as part of the broader initiative. These searches will have their own application and selection processes.

Research Environment

BCBI sits within an unusual concentration of biological, therapeutic, and clinical research. At UC Berkeley, the Innovative Genomics Institute advances genome engineering toward accessible solutions in human health, and the Molecular Therapeutics Initiative brings together disease biology, chemistry, structural biology, data science, and biotechnology to tackle challenging disease targets. At UCSF and Gladstone, the Bakar Aging Research Institute, the Bakar Ear and Hearing Institute, and the Gladstone-UCSF Genomic Immunology Institute address aging, hearing and balance disorders, and the human immune system. The Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center integrates basic science, clinical research, population science, and patient care. The Bakar ImmunoX Initiative and the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute provide shared technologies, data infrastructure, and expertise for immunology and precision medicine. Together these units give Bakar Research Investigators direct access to collaborations to answer biological questions, access experimental technologies, interrogate biomedical data, and address clinical challenges that few computational researchers can reach.

Required Qualifications

A PhD or equivalent doctoral degree (by hire date) in computer science, statistics, mathematics, physics, computational biology, bioengineering, or a related quantitative field. Candidates are expected to have 0-3 years of postdoctoral experience. Candidates must meet the required qualifications at the time of appointment. Candidate’s application materials must state qualifications (or if pending) upon submission.

Preferred Qualifications

A record of methodological innovation in AI, machine learning, statistics, or related computational areas. A publication record demonstrating significant and identifiable intellectual contributions. A concrete and ambitious vision for an independent research program.

Evidence of productive collaboration with experimental or clinical researchers. Experience mentoring graduate students or junior scientists. Prior research experience in biology or biomedicine is valued but not required, and exceptional quantitative scientists seeking to move into biomedicine are encouraged to apply.

Questions about the position may be directed to View email address on click.appcast.io

See Table 13B for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $96,700-$257,100.

• A PhD or equivalent doctoral degree (by hire date) in computer science, statistics, mathematics, physics, computational biology, bioengineering, or a related quantitative field.
• Candidates are expected to have 0-3 years of postdoctoral experience.
• Candidate’s application materials must state qualifications (or if pending) upon submission.