Master Thesis spring 2027

UMC is offering Masters thesis opportunities for spring 2027. We are looking for creative and motivated students with a keen interest in data science or software development. We currently have one proposed thesis project in information technology.

Please note that the thesis proposal has not been finalised. It will be discussed further with the student to tailor it to their interests and background.

Automatic Extraction of data from Summary of Product Characteristics documents

All medicines on the market are accompanied by a Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) a mandatory document which describes how the medicine works and how to use it safely. The SPC contains information such as pharmaceutical form strength therapeutic indications dosage and frequency and nature of adverse events (side effects).

In pharmacovigilance we investigate combinations: pairs of medicines and adverse events. We look for statistical signals indicating that a medicine may cause a particular adverse event. For this work it would be useful to have access to structured information from SPCs so we can identify combinations that are already known and avoid reinventing the wheel. However the currently available data sources store SPCs as PDFs which means the information is unstructured and cannot be used automatically.

The proposed project aims to explore automatic extraction of data such as adverse events and their frequencies from SPCs. This includes investigating tools for data extraction such as large language models or Azures Text analytics for health and evaluating how well they perform using metrics such as recall and precision. The exact methods will be selected together with the student depending on their background and the final scope of the project.

Techniques that may be used depending on the project:

Algorithms

Data analysis

Large language models

Python C# SQL R

Agile ways of working

Our offer:

Modern offices in central Uppsala with options for hybrid work

You will be part of a team and mentored by UMC employees

An international and inclusive environment with 200 co-workers

Possibilities to publish your work at a scientific conference or in a journal

Compensation when the project is completed

Who you are:

You are enthusiastic and want to solve meaningful problems

You are analytical curious and independent

You are studying for an MSc in Engineering or Data Science and have some experience in programming

Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) is an independent self-funded non-profit foundation established in 1978 dedicated to safer use of medicines and vaccines. Through an agreement between the Government of Sweden and the World Health Organization (WHO) UMC operates the Programme for International Drug Monitoring supporting over 180 member countries and regions in strengthening safety surveillance and maintains VigiBase the WHO global database of adverse event addition UMC provides international standards and related digital solutions for secure exchange of pharmacovigilance data including a global medicine and vaccine terminology for identification of medicinal products. With around 200 staff UMC advances the science of pharmacovigilance and transforms its practice through technological innovation.

UMCs working language is English. We normally apply a probationary period to new appointments.

If you have any questions regarding this position please contact the responsible manager. You will find the contact details at the end of this page.

UMC follows the collective agreements between the Swedish Agency for Government Employers and Saco-S and ST. Union representatives are Malin Zaar (Saco-S) and Jessica Avasol (ST) 46 (0)18-65 60 60.