Donald Hill Family Postdoctoral Fellow - Artificial Intelligence in Health & Medicine

Job Summary & Key Responsibilities

Dalhousie University invites applications for a Donald Hill Family Postdoctoral Fellowship in Artificial Intelligence in Health & Medicine. This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented and ambitious researcher to build an independent, high-impact research program at the intersection of machine learning and healthcare.

The fellowship is anchored in the Faculty of Computer Science, under the supervision of Dr. Frank Rudzicz, Dalhousie’s Killam Memorial Chair in AI and Canada CIFAR Chair in AI. The co-supervision team will be assembled around the candidate’s own research vision, drawing from partners across Engineering, Medicine, Health, and Science.

Research Scope

The fellowship is open-ended in research direction, within the area of machine learning applied to health and medicine. We are interested in candidates with expertise and ambition in one or more of the following areas — though we welcome compelling proposals that go beyond them:

• Foundation models and large language models in clinical settings (EHR, clinical notes, patient communication)
• Speech and language biomarkers for neurological and cognitive disease (dementia, Parkinson’s, depression, psychosis)
• Multimodal AI for diagnostics — integrating imaging, text, physiological signals, and genomics
• Safe, explainable, and trustworthy AI for clinical decision support
• Precision medicine and AI-driven personalized treatment planning
• Human-AI collaboration in surgical safety and perioperative care
• AI for health equity — reducing algorithmic bias and expanding access to care

The Donald Hill Family Postdoctoral Fellowship

Dr. Donald Hill, a Dalhousie alumnus with a distinguished career in medicine and research, has created three prestigious postdoctoral fellowships for interdisciplinary research in three key areas: Medicine, Computer Science, and Arts and Social Sciences. The intent of these fellowships is to promote discoveries and advancements through integration with leading-edge research and scholarship across disciplines — enhancing the university’s ability to attract and retain the best and brightest scholars, and contributing to innovative multidisciplinary research that solves technological challenges, develops cures, and improves lives.

A defining feature of the Donald Hill Fellowship is the community of fellows it creates. Collaboration and dialogue among the three concurrent fellows — across Computer Science, Medicine, and the Arts and Social Sciences — is a core expectation and a desired outcome of the program. Past fellows have co-hosted public presentations, participated together in a writing course, and shared regular dinners. Potential synergy among the research of the three fellows will also be considered in the final selection.

This is a named, competitive fellowship awarded to outstanding individuals. You will be recognized and supported as an emerging research leader. Annual renewal is based on demonstrated progress and engagement.

Why Dalhousie — Why Now

Dalhousie is in a period of rapid growth in AI and health research. The Faculty of Computer Science has made major strategic investments in machine learning, and the university’s close ties with Nova Scotia Health — one of Canada’s most integrated provincial health systems — provide exceptional opportunities for applied, translational work. The candidate will be a member of the Atlantic AI Institute and will be expected to play an active role in its activities and development.

Halifax is an increasingly competitive research city, home to a cluster of hospitals, universities, and growing health-tech companies. The Atlantic region’s scale makes it uniquely suited to AI-driven health innovation: close relationships between researchers and health systems mean that ideas can move from lab to clinic faster than almost anywhere in Canada.

Qualifications/Requirements of Position

What We Are Looking For
We are seeking the most talented, productive, and intellectually ambitious postdoctoral researchers in the field. The ideal candidate will have:

• A completed or near-complete doctorate in Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Statistics, Bioinformatics, Medicine or Health Sciences, or a closely related field
• A strong publication record in high-impact venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, ACL, EMNLP, Nature/Science family, JAMA, Lancet Digital Health, or equivalent)
• Deep expertise in machine learning and/or deep learning, with demonstrated application to health or medicine
• A compelling, independently motivated research vision
• Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to engage with clinical and non-technical collaborators
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical, responsible, and equitable AI

Experience with clinical data, health informatics infrastructure, or direct collaboration with clinicians and patients is a strong asset. Candidates from underrepresented groups in AI and STEM are especially encouraged to apply.

Interested parties should submit:

• Cover letter describing your interest in this position and Dalhousie (1–2 pages)
• Full curriculum vitae, including complete publication list
• Research statement: your vision for an independent research program you would pursue as a fellow (up to 3 pages)
• Three representative publications or preprints
• Transcripts of all completed degrees (English; unofficial accepted at application stage)
• Contact information for three academic references

Due to the terms of the funding arrangement, this fellowship is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Applicants currently registered in a doctoral program must complete their doctorate by the fellowship start date. Applicants who have already completed their doctorate must have done so within the past three years.

Review of applications is ongoing. We encourage candidates to apply as early as possible, as priority consideration will be provided for applications received by May 20th.

Salary Range/Pay Rate

$70,000

Additional Information

Dalhousie University commits to achieving inclusive excellence through continually championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. The university encourages applications from Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (especially Mi’kmaq), persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), and members of other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, persons identifying as members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversity of our community. In accordance with our Employment Equity Policy, preference will be given in hiring processes to candidates who self-identify as members of one or more of the equity-deserving groups listed above.