AI Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Pathology

Salary Range:
Band No Grade Job Description Summary We are excited to invite applications for the Novartis Biomedical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, a unique training opportunity designed for exceptional early-career scientists eager to tackle some of the most challenging problems in biomedical research and drug discovery.

Location:

Basel, Switzerland Duration: 3 years

Start date:

November 1, 2026 or earlier Final date to receive applications:
September 10, 2026 EOB

Job Description:

As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, you will join the AI & Innovation team within Oncology Data Science at Novartis in Basel and pursue an innovative research project at the forefront of biomedical science and drug discovery. You will work alongside leading scientists in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment while gaining exposure to the broader ecosystem that translates scientific discovery into medicines.

Our fellows are empowered to ask bold scientific questions, apply cutting-edge technologies, and develop approaches that have the potential to transform patient care.

Research Opportunity:
Working closely with pathologists, translational scientists, and drug discovery teams, you will gain exposure to the end-to-end oncology research process, from biological hypothesis generation and biomarker discovery to translational decision-making. Your project will focus on advancing AI-enabled digital pathology approaches to extract clinically and biologically meaningful insights from complex tissue imaging datasets, including H&E, IHC, multiplex immunofluorescence, and spatial transcriptomics.

In close collaboration with computational, pathology, and translational teams, you will help identify robust image‑derived biomarkers and interpret spatial and cellular patterns in the tumor microenvironment to support next-generation oncology therapeutics.

The Novartis Biomedical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is designed to develop the next generation of scientific leaders and power the future of medicine through rigorous research, and immersive learning experiences, including the implementation of AI tools in biomedical research.

• Guidance from accomplished scientific leaders and subject matter experts
• Access to advanced technologies, platforms, and research capabilities
• Collaboration across disciplines and organizational boundaries
• A global and diverse community of postdoctoral fellows
• Dedicated programming designed to help fellows thrive throughout their careers.
• Personalized experiential learning opportunities through a Postdoc Practicum that empower fellows to explore new scientific domains, build cross‑functional expertise, and expand their impact beyond their primary research project.
• Opportunities to present research, publish in leading journals, and build an international scientific network

This is a full‑time training position of up to three years in duration.

At Novartis, our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. Through this program, you will grow as a scientist and future leader while contributing to discoveries that may ultimately benefit patients worldwide.

• Develop and apply AI approaches to extract insights from digital pathology imaging datasets (e.g., H&E, IHC, mIF, Spatial transcriptomics).
• Work with foundational models, including pre‑trained, self‑supervised, multi‑purpose, and multi‑modal models to advance generative AI applications in drug discovery.
• Collaborate with pathologists and translational teams to interpret image‑derived biomarkers and biological findings.
• Contribute to scientific publications and present results at internal and external scientific conferences.

• PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) in a relevant scientific discipline, completed prior to the fellowship start date. The program is intended for scientists immediately following their PhD training (graduated in 2026).
• Demonstrated record of scientific achievement (publications, presentations, patents, or equivalent).
• Strong commitment to learning, innovation,…