Research Associate / Doctoral Researcher in the AI Incubator Research Group REGAIN

About us

The University of Oldenburg is receiving 22.5 million euros from the Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation from the “Strategic Development of Potential” funding line to sharpen its profile and strengthen its national and international competitiveness through the project "A Programme for Excellence. Developing Strengths and Building Potentials by Interdisciplinary and International Networking". Among other things, this is to be achieved through consistent networking across national and international borders, the promotion of students and scientists in early career phases and the strengthening of interdisciplinary research priorities in socially relevant and innovative areas.

Faculty VI – School of Medicine and Health Sciences comprises the fields of Human Medicine, Medical Physics and Acoustics, Neurosciences, Psychology, and Health Services Research. Together with four regional hospitals, Faculty VI forms the University Medicine Oldenburg. The faculty also maintains close collaboration with the University Medical Center Groningen. The Department of Health Services Research represents an interdisciplinary and participatory perspective on healthcare. Our goal is to promote individual health and independence while contributing to the best possible design of healthcare services.

About the REGAIN Research Group

This position is part of the research group REGAIN – Real-time explainable AI for early detection and adaptive neuromodulation in depression care. REGAIN develops an innovative AI-supported system for the early detection of psychological instability and the personalized support of people with depression during the transition from inpatient treatment back into everyday life. The project combines continuous mobile monitoring, explainable AI, and adaptive mobile neurofeedback approaches. This doctoral position focuses on the methodological and technical foundations of REGAIN. The aim is to develop AI methods for personalized mobile neuromodulation and digital mental health applications. Key research areas include:

• Multimodal longitudinal modeling of disease trajectories using wearable, smartphone, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), and biosignal data
• AI models for early detection of psychological instability
• Explainability in clinical decision support
• Robust real-time biosignal processing for mobile neurotechnologies
• Adaptive EEG/fNIRS neurofeedback algorithms

The research group operates at the intersection of AI, digital health, neuroscience, psychiatry, and biomedical engineering. The main clinical partner is the Karl Jaspers Clinic. Additional technical collaborations include OFFIS, DFKI, University Medicine Oldenburg (UMO), and international research partners.

Your tasks

• Contribute to the development and evaluation of digital systems for mental health
• Process and analyze multimodal data (e.g., EMA, wearables, smartphone data, EEG/fNIRS)
• Implement and optimize biosignal processing and data analysis methods
• Develop mobile neurofeedback and AI-supported systems
• Collaborate with clinical and technical project partners
• Present scientific results and contribute to publications
• Contribute to interdisciplinary networking and collaboration within the incubator, particularly with other research groups, the transfer area, and the SkillsLab, as well as participate in program-wide activities within the “Programme for Excellence” and beyond.

Your profile

Required Qualifications:

• Completed academic university degree (Diplom (Univ.) / Master’s degree) in Computer Science, (Bio)Medical Engineering, Medical Informatics, or a related field
• Very good programming skills and initial experience with machine learning frameworks
• Experience in data analysis and statistical methods
• Good written and spoken English skills; due to collaboration with clinical partners, willingness to acquire German language skills is expected

Desirable Qualifications:

• Interest in AI in healthcare, digital mental health, or neurotechnologies, as well as interdisciplinary and translational research
• Motivation to pursue a doctoral degree
• Independent, structured, and research-oriented working style
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Knowledge of time series analysis or probabilistic modeling, as well as explainable AI, uncertainty modeling, or reinforcement learning
• Experience with multimodal data integration
• Experience in biosignal processing (e.g., EEG, EMG, fNIRS)
• Experience with mobile sensor systems and wearables

We offer

• Participation in an innovative research project in AI and mental health
• An interdisciplinary research environment at the intersection of AI, neuroscience, and clinical care
• Close collaboration with clinical partners and international research institutions
• Opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree
• Salary according to public sector pay scale regulations, including annual special payment, occupational pension scheme, and capital-forming benefits, plus 30 days of annual leave
• Structured onboarding and support during the induction phase
• A family-friendly working environment with flexible working hours and the option for partial remote work
• Workplace health promotion programs
• A comprehensive free continuing education program and dedicated academic career development opportunities

Further information and benefits of working at University Medicine Oldenburg can be found at: https://uol.de/umo-benefits. 

Our standards

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.

Further information

A high level of on-site presence in Oldenburg is required for the successful execution of the project tasks.

Contact

For further information, please contact Dr. Franziska Klein, .