PhD Internship - Neurodegeneration for 12 months -RiSE program (m/f/d)

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The Position

Title: Validation of Wearable Sleep Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases

The RiSE program (Roche Internships for Scientific Exchange) is a highly competitive student research program at Roche. It offers the most talented postgraduate PhD and medical degree students the opportunity to be fully integrated into our interdisciplinary and international industry R&D environment. As a RiSE student you will enhance your competencies, gain valuable work experience with us, and eventually become part of a world-wide network of RiSE Alumni.

The Neuroscience and Rare Diseases Discovery and Translational Area (NRD DTA) is developing medicines for a range of serious neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism, spinal muscular atrophy, and Huntington’s disease.

As RiSE student in the NRD DTA you will join our group in Biomarkers and perform at the Roche Innovation Center Basel, Switzerland, where you will be engaged in cutting-edge analysis of wearable sensor data to identify and validate sleep and fatigue biomarkers in Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. You will be hosted and mentored by a Roche scientist who will guide you through your research and provide you with the needed work infrastructure and collaborative network.

During the internship your tasks will include:

• Performing data analysis on a longitudinal dataset to explore and validate sleep and fatigue patterns as potential biomarkers for disease severity and progression in neurodegenerative and immune mediated diseases.

• Applying machine learning techniques to develop algorithms that can process and interpret complex sensor data, translating these findings into actionable insights for clinical trial design and therapeutic strategies.

• Collaborating closely with the EU funded IDEA-FAST consortium aimed at identifying digital biomarkers for fatigue and sleep. Thereby, you will be integrating and analyzing multimodal data streams, to leverage collective expertise and enhance biomarker discovery and validation.

• Engaging in knowledge exchange with consortium partners to refine data analysis methodologies and contribute to the broader scientific community's understanding of digital biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases.

Who You Are

You’re someone who wants to influence your own development. You’re looking for a company where you have the opportunity to pursue your interests across functions and geographies. Where a job title is not considered the final definition of who you are, but the starting point.

Moreover you are/have:

• Enrolled in a PhD or medical degree program at a university and are looking to expand your experience with an industry internship bringing a strong foundation in either neuroscience, biomedical engineering, psychology, sleep and circadian research, or a related field.

• Proficient in programming languages such as Matlab, Python or R, with a solid understanding of algorithm development, data analysis, and machine learning techniques.

• Ideally, you have experience in handling large datasets, familiarity with wearable sensor data, and the ability to interpret complex data sets and extract meaningful insights.

• A proactive learner with the ability to work independently as well as part of a multidisciplinary team, contributing to collaborative projects and scientific discussions.

• Good communication skills and excited to present complex scientific concepts to both scientific and non-scientific audiences.

• Motivated to translate research findings into clinical applications, with a keen interest in the development of biomarkers and endpoints for neurodegenerative diseases.

Information about application documents and start date:

The preferred start date of the internship is August 2024 or upon availability.

Applications need to include a CV and a cover letter, as well as a letter from your academic supervisor supporting your application to the RiSE Program.

Please note that due to regulations non-EU/EFTA citizens have to provide a certificate from the university stating that an industry internship is mandatory as part of the university training.

Who we are

At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity and diversity.

Basel is the headquarters of the Roche Group and one of its most important centres of pharmaceutical research. Over 10,700 employees from over 100 countries come together at our Basel/Kaiseraugst site, which is one of Roche`s largest sites. Read more.

Besides extensive development and training opportunities, we offer flexible working options, 18 weeks of maternity leave and 10 weeks of gender independent partnership leave. Our employees also benefit from multiple services on site such as child-care facilities, medical services, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as various employee events.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion, and strive to identify and create opportunities that enable all people to bring their unique selves to Roche.