Professor and Director of SMARTbiomed

Aarhus University; Aarhus; On-site; DKK 1,400,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Aarhus University invites applications for the position of Professor and Director of SMARTbiomed within the Department of Public Health. The role is a permanent full-time leadership post based at Aarhus University, Denmark, with responsibility for shaping the Pioneer Centre's scientific direction and strategy across multiple sites and partner institutions.

You will lead and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, foster collaboration with major foundations and universities, and drive the Centre's

Qualifications

• Distinguished academic leadership with an internationally recognised profile.
• Proven track record in managing large, multi-institutional research centres.
• Strong record of securing external research funding and partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Shape SMARTbiomed's scientific direction and set the programme.
• Strengthen relationships with foundations, universities and strategic partners.
• Foster collaboration, inclusion and a shared purpose across sites.
• Oversee development and strategic management, ensuring commitments to funders.
• Drive expansion of research portfolio and external funding opportunities.
• Increase visibility and unite Danish research for societal impact.

Skills

Academic leadership

Strategic planning

Fundraising

Research management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Statistical software (R, Python)

Job description

Professor and Director of SMARTbiomed

The Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences – Aarhus University invites applications for a position as Professor and Director of The Pioneer Centre for Statistical and Computational Methods for Advanced Research to Transform Biomedicine (SMARTbiomed). The starting date is 1st June 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is a permanent full-time position. The director of SMARTbiomed is based at Aarhus University, Denmark.

About SMARTbiomed

The Pioneer Centre for SMARTbiomed is funded by a combined grant of DKK 250 million from the Lundbeck Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Villum Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish National Research Foundation. The Centre is funded for 13 years, starting in June 2024, and currently consists of approximately 60 researchers at all levels and support staff. SMARTbiomed is anchored at the National Centre for Register-based Research at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University with main sites at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oxford and satellite sites at several research institutions.

The Centre aims to support methodological research and software development for analysis and inference from massive human data, advancing applications in medicine. The broad methodological focus is used to answer questions relevant to common complex diseases/disorders specifically cardiometabolic, brain, and infertility and reproductive health. It leverages large-scale, multimodal biomedical data combined with focused innovation in statistical and computational methods, including machine learning and AI, to advance our understanding, treatment, and prevention of human disease. SMARTbiomed supports a critical mass of researchers who focus on method and software development for analysis of, and inference from, human health-related massive data, advancing applications in medicine.

The main objectives of SMARTbiomed are to bring together multi-disciplinary teams to develop new methods and apply them in biomedical research motivated by problems in clinical practice, develop data platforms and software for biomedical data science, and to deliver world-leading training and career development in health data science.

Your profile

We are seeking a distinguished and visionary academic leader at Full Professor level with an internationally recognised research profile in an area central to SMARTbiomed. This is a unique opportunity to shape the Centre's scientific direction, strategic development and long-term success. SMARTbiomed unites leading research environments across three universities, supported by major philanthropic foundations, providing an exceptional platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, scientific innovation and impact.

• Strategic academic leadership: Substantial experience in academic leadership and research management, ideally in ambitious, collaborative research environments.
• Scientific excellence: An outstanding research track record and comprehensive knowledge of relevant methods, tools and international best practice within SMARTbiomed's scientific areas.
• Visionary and collaborative leadership: The ability to inspire, communicate clearly and navigate complex challenges with a constructive, solution-oriented approach.
• Strategic resource management: Experience in developing effective structures, managing resources and enabling researchers and research environments to thrive.
• Funding and partnerships: A proven ability to attract significant competitive external funding and develop ambitious research initiatives and collaborations.

Your role

As a senior leader of SMARTbiomed, you will have a key role in shaping the Centre's scientific and strategic direction and in realising its ambition to develop an internationally leading research environment. You will be a highly visible and motivating leader who fosters a culture characterised by trust, collaboration, intellectual ambition and academic excellence. You will be based at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University while playing an active leadership role across SMARTbiomed's different sites and partner institutions. A central part of your role will be to connect people, disciplines and research environments across the Centre and across Denmark, accelerating the translation of research into solutions that benefit society and healthcare.

You will champion a diverse, inclusive and intellectually stimulating research environment in which talented researchers and staff are encouraged to develop, collaborate and pursue ambitious scientific ideas. Through engaged and visionary leadership, you will contribute to making SMARTbiomed a highly attractive environment for recruiting, developing and retaining outstanding researchers and staff. You will report to the leader of the National Centre for Register-based Research.

Key responsibilities include

• Shape the scientific vision and set the overall agenda for SMARTbiomed, in collaboration with the co-directors, and translate the vision into a clear programme.
• Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders, including the major foundations funding SMARTbiomed, the universities and institutions involved in the Centre, and other strategic partners.
• Foster a strong culture of collaboration, inclusion and shared purpose across SMARTbiomed, ensuring that colleagues feel connected regardless of location or site.
• Lead the overall development and strategic management of SMARTbiomed, while ensuring effective day-to-day management and fulfilment of the Centre's commitments to its funders and partners.
• Drive the expansion of SMARTbiomed's research portfolio and funding base, while supporting researchers in developing ambitious research agendas and securing external funding.
• Build the visibility of SMARTbiomed, through active engagement with the academic community and funders, and unite the Danish research community, creating a foundation for societal impact and translation.

An attractive start package can be negotiated.

About the Department of Public Health

The Department of Public Health is a research-intensive environment dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and developing applied solutions to major public health challenges. Research at the department spans theoretical, basic, and applied sciences, with the shared ambition of generating impactful knowledge and improving population health. Academic excellence is at the core of everything we do, and we are committed to conducting rigorous and innovative research and delivering high-quality teaching. Rooted in our respective disciplines, we foster interdisciplinary collaboration to strengthen research, education and innovation. We are equally committed to cultivating a healthy and supportive workplace characterised by open dialogue, mutual respect and an informal atmosphere. We believe that academic excellence and personal well-being are mutually reinforcing and essential to long-term success.

In order to be assessed as qualified for a Professor position, you must meet these academic criteria.