Postdoctoral Research Fellow Postdoctoral Research Fellow in AI and musculoskeletal health (diagnosis and virtual triage)

Job Category

Job Title

Department

Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

The expected salary for this position is $90000 per annum benefits.

At UBC we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research innovation and learning for all faculty staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

Many Canadians living with ongoing muscle bone or joint (musculoskeletal) pain face long waits for diagnosis and care. Because pain often does not appear on scans or tests it is frequently misunderstood or dismissed. Current digital triage tools such as HealthLink 811 and Ada are not specifically designed for musculoskeletal issues and perform poorly for these conditions. The DigiMSK lab studies how digital health tools could improve communication between patients and clinicians and speed up diagnosis.

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will lead work to develop prototypes of patient-centred generative AI tools that reduce musculoskeletal diagnostic delay and support access to musculoskeletal care. This position offers the opportunity to work at the intersection of AI and health sciences focusing on developing machine learning approaches to diagnosing musculoskeletal pain conditions including low back pain and osteoarthritis. The fellow will be supported to apply for grants to extend work in this field.

The position is a 1-year funded role supported by the UBC AI & Health Network ( There is potential for re-appointment contingent on successful grant applications. The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will receive support to apply to the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program in September 2026.

Organizational Status

Dr Clare Arderns DigiMSK research lab is based at UBCs Department of Physical Therapy Fraser Valley site (City Centre 1 building in Surrey BC) and Centre for Aging SMART at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will report to Dr Ardern and interact with other research team members including researchers and staff at UBC the Centre for Aging SMART and Fraser Health Northern Health and Provincial Health Services Authority. The DigiMSK team currently comprises the PI (Dr Ardern) a Senior Research Associate a Postdoctoral Fellow a Qualitative Research Analyst a Patient Partner and Accessible Design Specialist and 3 undergraduate/graduate research assistants. The DigiMSK Clinical Advisory Board of health system partners (patients clinicians and health system leaders) from national and international healthcare settings provides specific guidance and input on all research projects.

The Centre for Aging SMART at Vancouver Coastal Health is a UBC Senate-approved research center within the Faculty of Medicine and affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. The Centres interdisciplinary research is conducted under the pillars of mobility activity rehabilitation and technology. The DigiMSK lab leads community-based research projects that study how digital technologies can improve underserved communities access to health care.

UBCs AI & Health Network Fellows Program delivers advanced training and mentorship to nurture future leaders who will drive innovation and transformation in healthcare through interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence. Enabled by a $22.5M gift from the Gordon B. Shrum Charitable Fund to the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 2025 the AI & Health Network supports research using natural language processing large language models and foundation models to address real-world challenges in: (1) clinical practice and patient experience and (2) biomedical innovation and translational sciences.

Responsibilities

Develop Clinical Language Models

Develop the clinical reasoning capabilities and safety of AI models via integration of domain-specific knowledge

Conduct domain-specific fine-tuning to iteratively refine AI models with a focus on acceptability factuality and safety

Work with patient and clinician partners to iteratively tune AI models in response to user priorities

Identify research funding sources and assist with grant writing

Participate in weekly team meetings contributing to discussion and mentoring of other research team members

Lead on preparing scientific manuscripts and presentations

Prepare reports for health system partners

Supervision Received

The Fellow will work under the general direction of Dr Ardern with mentorship from the wider project team which includes professors and highly qualified research staff in medicine computer science and human-centred computing.

Supervision Given

The Fellow may supervise junior research team members (including undergraduate research trainees).

Qualifications

PhD in computer science bioinformatics data science or similar with a focus on machine learning or natural language processing obtained within the last 5 years by the time of the appointment start date

Strong Python programming skills including experience with PyTorch/TensorFlow Scikit-learn and LangChain

Experience working with Large Language Models and evaluating their performance

Familiarity with data privacy regulations and ethical considerations for medical AI

Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Track record of knowledge exchange and research impact (including but not limited to publications and presentations)

Respect for diverse perspectives and expertise in health care settings

Commitment to cultural safety and humility

The expected salary for this position is $90000 per annum benefits. The Faculty of Medicine is committed to offering equitable and competitive salaries commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate. The position is full-time for 1 year with the possibility of extension subject to work performance and funding availability.

Application Details

Applicants must include the following in an application package:

A maximum 3-page letter of application outlining relevant experience research interests and statement of career goals

A detailed curriculum vitae (Canadian Common CV is acceptable)

A summary of graduate thesis research and any postdoctoral research (if applicable) (1 page)

Graduate transcript

Three writing samples (including at least 1 publication)

Contact information (name telephone number and email address) for 2 referees

Submit applications via email to:
Dr Clare Ardern Department of Physical Therapy
Subject: Postdoctoral fellow - AI and health
Email:

For any queries about the position please email . Review of applications will begin on 17 January 2026 and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is 1 March 2026 or earlier as negotiated.

We invite applications from qualified candidates who share our commitment to employment equity and inclusive excellence and we welcome applications from candidates belonging to historically persistently or systemically marginalized groups: Indigenous (First Nation Métis Inuit) Peoples racialized persons persons with disabilities women 2SLGBTQIA people and trans and non-binary people.

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment for all members of its workforce. An inclusive work environment presumes an environment where differences are appreciated recognized and integrated into current structures planning and decision-making modes. Within this hiring process we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable process for all candidates (including but not limited to people with disabilities). Confidential accommodations are available on request. If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support please visit UBCs Centre for Workplace Accessibility website at or contact the Centre at .

With gratitude we acknowledge that the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and its distributed programs which include four university academic campuses are located on traditional and unceded territories of First Nations Peoples and communities around the province.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone.

Ranked among the worlds top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia more than 12000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals making remarkable discoveries and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty - comprising approximately 2200 administrative support technical/research and management and professional staff as well approximately 650 full-time academic and over 10000 clinical faculty members - is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments three schools and 24 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty staff and trainees are located at university campuses clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

UBC - One of the Worlds Leading Universities. As one of the worlds leading universities the University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship advances a civil and sustainable society and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia Canada and the world.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code including sex sexual orientation gender identity or expression racialization disability political belief religion marital or family status age and/or status as a First Nation Metis Inuit or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.