Research Assistant – AI-Assisted Bacterial Identification Using Colony Imaging to Reduce Clinical Laboratory Screening Time- Innovations in Health Sciences (IHS)

ABOUT VINUNIVERSITY 

VinUniversity (VinUni: https://vinuni.edu.vn/) is the first private, not-for-profit Vietnamese university established based on international standards. The university integrates the models of excellent international universities with the unique cultural and economic characteristics of Vietnam, to make a breakthrough in Vietnamese higher education and to become a world-class university.

The University has built strategic collaborations with Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University— a choice that speaks to our commitment to excellence, innovation in research and teaching, and to making a difference in the world.

VinUni comprises of College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business and Management; College of Engineering and Computer Science; and College of Health Sciences.

Every aspect of the University: its curricula, research, faculty, student body, facilities, and campus life, is being developed to meet the highest standards set by the world’s leading accrediting and ranking organizations, such as FIBAA, ABET, AACSB, AGCME-I, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE).

VinUni’s founding benefactor – Vingroup is one of the biggest private conglomerates in Asia with the largest market capitalization value in Vietnam. As a multisector corporation, Vingroup focuses on main areas: Industrials & Technology; Real Estate & Services; Social Enterprises. VinUni is proud to be a part of the Vingroup ecosystem, giving its students opportunities to connect with several high quality research institutes, pioneering companies (such as VinFast, Vinpearl, Vinmec, Vinschool, and Vinhomes) and an dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem (such as VinVenture, VinMotion, and VinRobotics…).

In September 2024, VinUni became the youngest and fastest university in the world to achieve QS 5 stars, earning 5 stars in 9 categories: global engagement, good governance, program strength, academic development, teaching, employability, facilities, arts, and social impact.  In October 2024, VinUni was appointed by UNESCO as the first and only UNESCO University Chair, focusing on Environmental Leadership, Cultural Heritage, and Biodiversity.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

IHS is looking for highly motivated researchers who are committed to advancing impactful, mission-driven science contributing to the Center’s growing research ecosystem of interdisciplinary health research.

The researcher will join a 36 –month project named AI-Assisted Bacterial Identification Using Colony Imaging to Reduce Clinical Laboratory Screening Time, focused on the development and validation of a high-quality rapid bacterial identification using colony morphology images obtained from bacterial culture, with the goal of generating new insights into rapid automated bacterial identification system. The project aims to address improving laboratory efficiency, reducing screening time, and laying the foundation for automated diagnostic tools in clinical microbiology. Working within a multidisciplinary team at IHS, the researcher will contribute to the bacterial culture and image acquisition workflows, dataset development and annotation, statistical and computational analyses, AI model development and validation, and the preparation of scientific outputs that directly advance the project’s research aims and broader institutional priorities.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Roles & responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be a driving force behind the project’s success and will be expected to:

• Assist with study planning, implementation, and coordination.
• Collect, culture, and manage bacterial colony image datasets.
• Perform image annotation and quality control procedures.
• Contribute microbiological laboratory activities and data collection.
• Contribute to AI model development, testing, and validation.
• Conduct data analysis and interpretation.
• Prepare high quality research reports, Q1 manuscripts, and presentations.
• Collaborate with microbiologists, data scientists, clinicians, and other project stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with ethical, regulatory, and data governance requirements

Expected Deliverables:

• Development of a high-quality annotated bacterial image dataset
• AI model development and performance evaluation
• High impact Q1 publications generated from the project

Qualification:

• Master‘s degree (or equivalent) in Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Data Science, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Experience in microbiology research, laboratory sciences, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, or health data analysis.
• Strong bioinformatics and programming (Python, R, or related languages) and experience managing data in GPU and CPU, Google Colab, etc.
• Ability to work effectively and independently in a multidisciplinary research environment with strong problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

Appointment Details:

• Salary: Competitive, in the range of 20 M – 25 M VND, commensurate with degree and experience.
• Contract: The position is offered on a yearly contract basis. The initial contract is renewed, typically for one year, subject to availability of funds, project needs, satisfactory performance, and approval from IHS.
• Principal Investigator: A successful candidate will work under management of Assist. Prof. Dr. Peggy Woh, whose research focuses on bacteriology, antimicrobial resistance, and genomic epidemiology.

Additional details about their work can be found here LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peywoh/

GitHub: https://resistbiology.github.io/

VinUni: https://vinuni.ecard.vn/u/50d7d74298397ba610f2f07482ed7121?hl=en 

• How to Apply: Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter detailing their research experience and motivation for this specific project, along with a comprehensive CV, to the Principal Investigator at [email protected] by 30 June 2026 until the position is filled. Please include “Researcher for AI Bacterial” in the subject line of your email.