Postdoctoral Researcher in Computer Vision and Multimodal AI for the Early Detection of Parkinson’s

The University Hospital Bonn (UKB) is one of Germany’s leading university hospitals, combining top-level performance in medicine and research with excellence in teaching. Each year, more than half a million patients receive inpatient and outpatient care at the UKB. Around 3,500 students study medicine and dentistry here, and over 600 people are trained annually in healthcare professions. With approximately 9,900 employees, the UKB is the third-largest employer in the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region. In the Focus hospital ranking, the UKB ranks first among university hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia and second nationwide in terms of case mix index (case severity). In 2024, the UKB raised nearly €100 million in third-party funding for research, development, and teaching. The F.A.Z. Institute has named the UKB “Germany’s Training Champion” and “Germany’s Most Attractive Employer” for the fourth consecutive year.

The following **full-time (38.5 hours/week)** position is to be filled as soon as possible **at the Center of Neurology** of the University Hospital Bonn:

**Postdoctoral Researcher in Computer Vision and Multimodal AI for the Early Detection of Parkinson’s Disease (m/w/d)**

The position is fixed-term until 30 September 2028 due to the duration of the research project.

Parkinson’s disease is usually diagnosed only after substantial neurodegeneration has already occurred. Subtle changes in movement, facial expression and speech may emerge years earlier, but current clinical assessments are not designed to detect and quantify them at scale. We believe that computer vision and multimodal AI can help close this gap - and that meaningful progress requires researchers who want to apply cutting-edge methods to a major clinical challenge.

Our goal is to develop objective and scalable digital tools for the early detection and monitoring of Parkinson’s disease. We combine video-based analysis of gait, balance, facial expression and limb movements with speech, touchscreen and wearable sensor data. A particular focus is on individuals with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder, who are at high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or related neurodegenerative disorders.

The group of Prof. Dr. Michael Sommerauer at the Center of Neurology at the University Hospital Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join our interdisciplinary team.

The successful candidate will take a leading role in the development of the computer vision components of bradyMX, our multimodal digital motor assessment platform. The position is embedded in the ERC-funded Re-START PD research program and offers the opportunity to work with unique, deeply phenotyped clinical cohorts and longitudinal datasets. Rather than developing methods in isolation, you will work closely with clinicians and neuroscientists to translate methodological advances into tools that may improve patient stratification, clinical trials and, ultimately, the way Parkinson’s disease is detected.

Please submit your application as a single PDF, including:

• a cover letter describing your scientific interests and motivation for joining the group

• a curriculum vitae including a publication list

• contact details for at least two referees

**Your responsibilities:**

- Lead the development of computer vision methods for quantifying subtle motor abnormalities from clinical video recordings

- Develop robust pipelines for human pose estimation, facial and body landmark detection, movement segmentation, tracking, feature extraction and automated quality control

- Design and evaluate machine-learning and deep-learning models for the analysis of gait, balance, facial expression and upper- and lower-limb movements

- Investigate temporal modelling, representation learning and interpretable movement features for the detection and monitoring of early motor dysfunction

- Integrate video-derived features with complementary digital modalities such as speech, touchscreen tasks, inertial sensors and clinical assessments

- Evaluate model robustness and generalizability across participants, recording conditions, devices and international study sites

- Work closely with the clinical research team on study design, data collection, annotation strategies and the interpretation of model outputs

- Prepare scientific manuscripts, present results at international conferences and contribute to grant applications

- Support the supervision of doctoral, Master’s and medical students

**Your profile:**

-

- A doctoral degree in computer vision, machine learning, computer science, biomedical engineering, medical informatics or a closely related discipline

- Strong experience in machine learning and deep learning for image, video or human movement analysis

- Excellent programming skills in Python and practical experience with frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow or JAX

- Experience in one or more of the following areas: human pose estimation, motion tracking, action recognition, temporal modelling, self-supervised learning, multimodal learning or domain adaptation

- A sound understanding of experimental design, quantitative model evaluation and reproducible research practices

- Experience with version control and collaborative software development; knowledge of containerized workflows and high-performance computing is an advantage

- Interest in translating methodological advances into clinically meaningful applications; previous experience in Parkinson’s disease or medical research is welcome but not required

- A high degree of scientific curiosity, independence and commitment to rigorous research

- Strong communication skills and enthusiasm for working in an interdisciplinary and international environment

- Very good command of written and spoken English; German language skills are not required

**What we offer:**

- The opportunity to lead an innovative research project at the intersection of computer vision, multimodal AI, neurology and digital health

- Access to unique, deeply phenotyped cohorts of individuals at risk of Parkinson’s disease, healthy controls and patients with early Parkinson’s disease

- Rich video, sensor and clinical datasets collected using standardized multimodal assessment protocols

- A direct path from methodological development to external validation and clinically relevant application

- Close collaboration with neurologists, neuroscientists, and international experts in Parkinson’s disease and digital biomarkers

- An excellent research environment at the University Hospital Bonn, the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

- Access to modern computational infrastructure and support for reproducible data analysis and software development

- Strong support for scientific publications, conference participation, grant applications and the development of an independent academic profile

- Opportunities to supervise junior researchers and contribute to a growing interdisciplinary research group

- **Responsible and diverse:** A position with plenty of room for creativity and responsibility within a supportive and collegial team

- **Fair compensation:** Pay according to the TV-L collective agreement TV-L (EG13), including annual bonus and company pension scheme

- **Family-friendly flexibility:** Flexible working time models, access to a place in our company daycare center, and programs supporting employees returning from parental leave

- **Smart commuting:** Excellent connection to the SWB public transport network

- **Supported development:** Individual training opportunities through courses, e-learning programs, and coaching sessions

- **Structured onboarding:** A systematic introduction to your new role and team

- **Healthy at work:** A wide range of health and wellness programs, plus free membership at the UKB fitness studio

- **Employee benefits:** Access to discounted offers for employees (corporate benefits)

We are committed to diversity and equal opportunities. Our goal is to increase the proportion of women in areas where women are underrepresented and to particularly promote their careers. We therefore urge relevantly qualified women to apply. Applications are treated in accordance with the State Equal Opportunities Act. Applications from suitable people with proven severe disabilities and those of equal status are particularly welcome.

**How to apply:**

If this profile matches your qualifications and interests and you would like to join our team, we look forward to receiving your application by 21.10.2026. Please quote vacancy reference number ST-53009 in your application and send it to:

**Prof. Dr. Michael Sommerauer**

**Universitätsklinikum Bonn**

**Venusberg-Campus-1**

**53127 Bonn**

**E-Mail: [email protected]**

**www.ukbonn.de**

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