Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi is hiring postdoctoral researchers in AI for Precision Medicine and Therapeutics, in its Biological and Life Sciences Division. You would build AI and network data science methods that mine molecular multi-omics and medical data, with the aim of improving precision medicine and finding new therapeutics. The team works with data from the Human Phenotype Project and the Emirati Genome Project. The salary is described as “competitive”, and the benefits include relocation support for international hires. Applications close on 5 November 2026.
The contact named on the advert is Professor Nataša Pržulj, Professor of Computational Biology at MBZUAI. This post suits a quantitative PhD (computer science, maths, physics or bioinformatics) who wants to apply AI to medicine. It is less suited to a wet-lab biologist or a clinician without strong programming skills. Below I cover the MBZUAI postdoc in AI for precision medicine in full: duties, requirements, benefits, application documents and how to write a cover letter that gets read.
MBZUAI postdoc in AI for precision medicine: key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employer | Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) |
| Unit | Biological and Life Sciences Division |
| Location | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Job title | Postdoc Researcher: AI for Precision Medicine and Therapeutics |
| Contract | Listed as permanent, full time on the THE advert (confirm the actual term at offer stage; postdoc contracts are usually fixed term) |
| Salary | “Competitive”; no figure published |
| Benefits | Health and life insurance, relocation support for international hires |
| Data | Human Phenotype Project and Emirati Genome Project |
| Contact | Prof. Nataša Pržulj, natasa.przulj@mbzuai.ac.ae |
| Advert posted | 5 October 2026 |
| Deadline | 5 November 2026 |
| Start date | Not stated |
| Apply | “Apply on website” on the THE Unijobs listing (job 416237) |
About MBZUAI and the Biological and Life Sciences Division
MBZUAI was set up in Abu Dhabi in October 2019 as a graduate research university devoted to artificial intelligence. Its faculty grew by more than 80% between 2021 and early 2023, according to the university. In April 2023 it reported 19th place in the world on CSRankings for AI, computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing combined, the top position in the Middle East and North Africa. CSRankings counts faculty papers at the most selective computer science conferences, so it measures research output in those fields, not a whole university.
The Biological and Life Sciences Division is led by its Dean, Professor Eran Segal. MBZUAI lists six research themes for it: systems biology and molecular medicine; precision medicine and population genomics; AI foundation models for health; microbiome and environmental health genomics; epidemic intelligence and global health; and open infrastructure and computational platforms. This post sits mainly in the first two.
The two datasets named in the advert explain why this job is unusual:
- Human Phenotype Project (HPP): MBZUAI describes it as combining molecular, clinical and environmental profiling, scaling to more than 100,000 participants.
- Emirati Genome Project (EGP): described by MBZUAI as the world’s largest genomic database, with over 800,000 DNA samples sequenced.
Postdocs who can work at that scale, combining genomes with deep clinical and lifestyle data, will have data that few labs can offer.
Abu Dhabi is an expensive city for rent, but the UAE does not tax salaries, and the advert offers relocation support. Ask what housing support comes with the post, since that decides your real take-home pay.
What the postdoc will do
The advert describes the work as:
- Method development: design AI and network data science algorithms to mine molecular multi-omics and medical data.
- Precision medicine: use those methods to improve precision medicine tasks, for example patient stratification or predicting disease and treatment response.
- Therapeutics: discover new precision therapeutics, which in practice can include drug repurposing and target discovery from networks.
- Team science: work in an interdisciplinary team with the HPP and EGP data.
- Translation: the advert mentions tech-transfer opportunities for results with practical value.
“Network data science” is a clue to the group’s style. Professor Pržulj’s field is network biology and network medicine, so expect graph-based methods for molecular interaction networks alongside deep learning and large language models.
Requirements for the MBZUAI precision medicine postdoc
The advert lists these qualifications:
- A PhD in computer science, mathematics, physics, bioinformatics or a related quantitative field.
- Strong expertise in several of: data science, bioinformatics, network science, AI/ML/DL, LLMs, genomics, agentic AI or computational chemistry.
- Programming skills in tools such as Python, TensorFlow or PyTorch.
- Publications in top-tier conferences or journals.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- The ability to work independently and in a team, and to manage several tasks.
It also asks for several of these technical skills:
| Skill area | Examples from the advert |
|---|---|
| Theory | Algorithms, graph theory, network theory, complexity theory |
| Computing | Scientific computing, statistics, programming in C, C++ or Python |
| Tools | MATLAB, parallel computing |
| Domain | Bioinformatics, network biology or medicine, medical informatics or related areas |
A medical doctor with an MPH and some R scripting will not meet this. A doctor who went on to a computational PhD and published machine learning papers could.
Salary, benefits and visa
The salary is “competitive”, which MBZUAI describes as aligned with leading global academic institutions, but no figure is given. Listed benefits are health and life insurance and relocation support for international hires. The advert does not mention visas. UAE employers normally sponsor the residence visa for staff hired from abroad, and the relocation support points the same way, but confirm with MBZUAI before you resign from anything.
How to apply
- Gather the documents: a CV with a full publication list, a cover letter, a list of references and all your university transcripts.
- Ask questions if needed: email Prof. Pržulj at natasa.przulj@mbzuai.ac.ae with short, specific questions about the role. Do not send a full application by email unless asked.
- Submit online: click “Apply on website” on the THE Unijobs listing for job 416237, which leads to MBZUAI’s application system.
- Check the transcripts: the advert asks for all university transcripts, so scan your bachelor’s, master’s and PhD records in advance. Some universities take weeks to issue these.
Deadline
Applications close on 5 November 2026. Request transcripts now if you do not have copies, because they are a required document.
How to write the cover letter
One page, or a page and a half at most. A structure that works for computational postdocs:
- Opening: your PhD field, thesis topic in one line and why AI for precision medicine with HPP and EGP data interests you.
- Methods you bring: the two or three techniques you know best (for example graph neural networks, matrix factorisation for data fusion, or LLM-based agents) and one paper for each.
- Biology and medicine exposure: any work on omics, clinical or drug data. If you have none, say how you would get up to speed.
- A project idea: one short paragraph on a question you would ask of population-scale genomic and phenotype data.
- Practical close: availability, and confirmation you are ready to relocate.
Sample opening line, for illustration only: “My PhD developed network embedding methods for multi-omics data integration, and I would like to apply them to population-scale cohorts such as the Human Phenotype Project to stratify patients by molecular profile.”
What the selection process looks like
MBZUAI has not published its process for this post. Computational postdoc hiring usually runs as a screen of CVs and publications, one or more video interviews with the PI and team, sometimes a short research talk or coding discussion, reference checks and then the offer and visa process.
Common mistakes
- Wrong background: applicants without a quantitative PhD or strong programming skills rarely get past screening.
- No transcripts: the advert lists all transcripts as required.
- A generic letter: name the HPP and EGP datasets and the network approach.
- Listing tools without results: “Python, PyTorch” means little without a paper or project that used them.
- Ignoring the medicine: show you can talk to clinicians and biologists.
- Late submission: the advert closes on 5 November 2026.
Who should apply and who shouldn’t
You should apply if you have, or will soon have, a PhD in computer science, maths, physics, bioinformatics or computational biology, with published work in machine learning, network science or genomics. Graduates from African, Asian and European universities with that profile are exactly who this advert targets, and the relocation support helps international hires.
You shouldn’t apply if your PhD is mainly wet-lab, if you cannot code at research level, or if you only want clinical work. Medical students and doctors who want to move into this field should build skills first, perhaps through a funded master’s: our guides to UAE scholarships and Khalifa University scholarships cover funded graduate study in the UAE.
Similar postdoc jobs to compare
| Role | Institution | Location | Salary (as advertised) | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postdoc Researcher, AI for Precision Medicine and Therapeutics | MBZUAI | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Competitive | 5 November 2026 |
| Post-doctoral Researcher, Computational Genomics for Predictive Medicine | University of Helsinki | Helsinki, Finland | EUR 3,800 to 4,000 a month | 19 November 2026 |
| Senior Research Fellow in AI Applied to Genomic Medicine | University of Southampton | Southampton, UK | GBP 46,970 to 49,798 | 18 November 2026 |
| Post-Doctoral Associate, Public Health Research Center | New York University Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Not stated | 12 November 2026 |
The Helsinki post is the closest match in subject and publishes its pay. The NYU Abu Dhabi post is the alternative in the same city if your background is closer to epidemiology.
FAQs about the MBZUAI postdoc in AI for precision medicine
What is the salary for an MBZUAI postdoc?
MBZUAI advertises the salary as “competitive” and gives no figure. Benefits include health and life insurance and relocation support for international hires.
What documents do I need for the MBZUAI postdoc application?
You need a CV with a publication list, a cover letter, a list of references and all your university transcripts.
Can a medical doctor apply for the MBZUAI AI for precision medicine postdoc?
Only with a PhD in a quantitative field (or a related computational PhD) and strong programming and machine learning skills. A medical degree alone does not meet the requirements.
When is the deadline for the MBZUAI precision medicine postdoc?
Applications close on 5 November 2026.
Sources and updates
I checked the role details on 29 October 2026 against the Times Higher Education Unijobs listing for job 416237. Division details, the Dean’s name, the research themes and the HPP and EGP figures come from MBZUAI’s Biological and Life Sciences Division page. The founding date and CSRankings result come from MBZUAI’s April 2023 news release. MBZUAI has not published a salary figure, start date or contract length for this post. I will update this page if the deadline changes.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
