AITHYRA Global Adjunct Principal Investigator Program

The Opportunity: The AITHYRA Institute for Biomedical AI is launching its Global Adjunct Principal Investigator (PI) Program, an initiative designed to connect the world’s leading minds in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the life sciences to shape the future of data-driven biology and biomedicine. We are seeking visionary researchers whose work pushes the boundaries of AI-enabled biological discovery, programmable biology, and AI-integrated experimentation. Through this program, AITHYRA aims to build a global faculty network that bridges computational and experimental sciences, fostering transformative collaborations that redefine how we understand and engineer living systems across biological scales. Each Global Adjunct PI will receive a five-year appointment with an annual budget of €150,000, typically supporting two PhD students who will spend a significant portion of their studies at AITHYRA in Vienna. The Global Adjunct PI program is designed to enable deep integration between leading innovators and AITHYRA’s core faculty. 

Your Profile: We want to continue to connect to emerging or established leaders in AI/ML, life sciences, biomedicine, and engineering with the required qualifications to supervise PhD students. We will recruit broadly but are particularly interested in AI/ML experts with a background in generative models, LLMs, agentic AI, ML-based simulations (e.g. molecular dynamics) with interest or track record of applying these methods within the domains of life sciences. Within the life sciences and biomedicine, we particularly welcome candidates with a strong background in cancer, immunological, neurological, or infectious disease research. We are especially interested in candidates with a medical background that can contribute a clinical perspective in these fields. We also have a strong interest in candidates with a background in the development of application of cutting-edge technologies, including high-throughput perturbation screening, single cell multi-omics, spatial biology, structural biology, imaging or proteomics.

Learn more about the Program: Download PDF

Appointment Process: Appointments will be made through a competitive and transparent selection process with minimal administrative burden. We only require:

• Your CV including publication list and overview of competitive 3^rd party funding

• An informal application document (maximum of 3 pages, Figures allowed) that outlines two points. First, your idea of what constitutes a grand scientific challenge in your field that requires a coordinated effort of AI/ML researchers and life scientists to solve. Second, how you would like to contribute to that question in the framework of your Adjunct PI position at AITHYRA.

Application Deadline, 30 January 2026: application@aithyra.at 

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Key points of an AITHYRA Global Collaborator Affiliation that needs to be supported by the Host Institution:

• Cooperation/affiliation agreement for 5 years 
• AITHYRA funding commitment of EUR 150,000 per year, request for funds/transfer of money once a year
• Definition of PhD project(s) on a cooperation topic relevant to the Partners
• The PhD student (m/f/d) receives an employment contract and PhD degree by the host institution, and is financed by AITHYRA, project stay(s) of at least 1 year in Vienna to promote the exchange of cooperation
• Any project related costs, such as consumables, travel costs, student fees, and project leader compensation of the Adjunct PI of up to 20% of previous salary costs can be covered by the global collaborator budget. 
• Integration of the Global Collaborator in activities of the AITHYRA faculty to promote scientific collaboration, involvement in faculty meetings, retreats, training activities, etc. 
• If required, access to administrative support from AITHYRA (travel bookings, PR, finance, grants, etc.) and mutual use of facility services
• Intellectual property: Work results from cooperation projects to which employees of both Partners have made significant contributions belong jointly to these Partners. In this case, an amicable approach to safeguarding and utilizing the Partner contributions is sought. 
• Affiliations on publications of the common PhD project: 
  • Global Collaborator = (host institution) first, AITHYRA second;
  • PhD Student (funded by AITHYRA) = AITHYRA first, (host institution) second; 
• The Partners are permitted to publish and manage the AITHYRA Global Collaborator Affiliation during the term of the agreement and with reference to the respective contractual partners within