Postdoctoral positions -Neuroimaging, Foundation Models, Causal Discovery, & Reinforcement Learning

Postdoctoral positions analyzing Multimodal Neuroimaging with advanced Foundation Models, Causal Discovery, & Reinforcement Learning, in Dallas, TX USA

Contact email: Albert.Montillo@UTSouthwestern.edu

Organization:University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW)

Location:Dallas, Texas (on-site; limited hybrid possible)

URL:https://montillolab.org/#PostdoctoralFellowshipPositions

Closing date:Feb 1, 2027 (Application review begins immediately; open until filled)

Description:

About the positions: Join the Deep Learning for Precision Health Lab at UT Southwestern to build next-generation AI for medicine with direct access to large, deeply-phenotyped datasets and clinical partners across UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children's Medical Center Dallas, Parkland Hospital, and the O'Donnell Brain Institute. These roles are ideal for researchers who have recently (or will soon) complete a PhD (typically 3 years from degree; ABD considered). Based in Dallas-one of the largest, most vibrant, and fastest-growing cities in the U.S.A. Fellows work closely with Prof. Albert A. Montillo, PhD (Associate Professor, tenured, Fellow of MICCAI / IEEE/ SPIE/ ASNR/ ISMRM/ OHBM) and collaborate with neurologists, radiologists, psychiatrists, and neuroscientists on clinically grounded problems-aimed at high-impact publications and deployable methods.

Project tracks (pick one or blend across):

1. Deep multimodal fusion models & GNNs: Integrate multi-contrast MRI & PET with electrophysiology/clinical data via deep fusion and graph learning to predict disease trajectories and treatment response (Opportunities in Parkinson's, AD, ASD, epilepsy, depression).

2. Image foundation models (FMs): Pretrain & fine-tune on very large medical image datasets (10k-100k+ subjects) for site-generalizable transfer to downstream tasks with per-subject explainability.

3. Bayesian Causal Discovery method development: Combine neuroimaging, interventional data, and priors to infer effective brain connectivity and mechanisms in developmental disorders, (e.g., epilepsy, ASD).

4. Reinforcement learning to guide neuromodulation therapy: Fuse computational neuroscience models with data-driven FMs to optimize closed-loop neuromodulation policies under uncertainty.

5. Speech + Imaging for early dementia: Build multimodal FMs over voice (audio), language (linguistics), and neuroimaging for earliest, most accurate dementia diagnosis.

How your career will grow:

• Design novel methods (FMs, deep multimodal fusion, GNNs, Bayesian/causal, RL) and run rigorous experiments at scale.
• Lead manuscripts to MICCAI, IPMI, TMI, MedIA, TPAMI, NeurIPS/ICLR/ICML, CVPR/ICCV.
• Collaborate with clinical teams for problem definition, data access, and validation.
• Contribute to open-source code, reproducible pipelines, and ethical/transparent AI.

Required Qualifications:

We will only consider scholars having (or will have) PhD degrees in CS, ECE, Applied Math, Computational Physics, BME, quantitative Neuroscience, or discipline with machine learning, signal or image analysis (MRI, CT, PET; MEG/EEG; speech/voice; video). Proficient ML/DL programming skills in Python (PyTorch/TensorFlow) and strong mathematical training for fast DL prototyping. Major contributions in peer reviewed publications of top conferences or journals: MICCAI, IPMI, CVPR, ICCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, AAAI, journals such as TPAMI, TMI, MedIA, Nature Communications, and related high-impact outlets. Enthusiasm to own neuroscience and clinical projects end-to-end with clear, reproducible results. Preferred (nice to have): Foundation model development; deep multimodal fusion; speech analysis / computational linguistics; explainable AI; Bayesian methods and GNNs; causal analysis; computational neuroscience; C++/CUDA, MATLAB experience; prior clinical collaboration.

Appointment and support: This is a full-time position, with competitive salary and full UTSW benefits, based in Dallas, Texas, USA. The initial appointment is for 1 year, renewable based on performance. Fellows should plan for a minimum 2-year commitment to enable high-impact publications and career development. US citizens strongly encouraged to apply; visa sponsorship is available for exceptional international candidates. Start window: ideally early in 2026; with later starts considered. The postdoc will be based in Dr. Montillo's lab in the Departments of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, and in close collaboration with the Neuroscience Dept and the O'Donnell Brain Institute.

For consideration: email Albert.Montillo@UTSouthwestern.edu with subject "Postdoc-Applicant-SfN" and include: (1) CV, (2) contact information for 3 references, (3) up to three representative publications, and (4) your preferred track(s) and start window. Positions are open until filled; review begins immediately.