PhD Candidate in Multimodal AI for ICU Clinical Decision Support / PhD Candidate in Multimodal AI for ICU Clinical Decision Support

PhD Position in Multimodal AI for ICU Clinical Decision Support

100%, Zurich, fixed-term

The Biomedical Data Science Lab (BMDS Lab) at the Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, is seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to join our interdisciplinary research team working at the intersection of data science, clinical simulation, and critical care research.

Project Background

Intensive care units are among the most cognitively demanding environments in medicine. Clinicians must rapidly integrate streams of patient data, coordinate with teams, monitor alarms, and document interventions, all under extreme time pressure. Yet how clinicians actually allocate attention, reason verbally, and make decisions remains poorly understood. This PhD project addresses that gap. Sitting at the intersection of clinical simulation, multimodal AI, and human factors research, the successful candidate will design high-fidelity ICU simulation scenarios, capture a unique synchronized dataset of gaze, speech, and documentation behavior from practicing ICU clinicians, and evaluate how these cognitive markers can improve AI-assisted clinical decision support systems (CDSS).

This 4-year position is fully funded by the ETH Foundation.

Job Description

As a PhD student, you will be an integral part of our interdisciplinary research team spanning biomedical data science, clinical simulation, and human factors. You will take an active role in shaping and executing a novel research program at the frontier of multimodal AI and ICU clinical cognition. Under the guidance of Prof. Jutzeler, a dedicated postdoctoral researcher, and collaborators, you will have access to unique clinical datasets, wearable sensing technology, and state-of-the-art simulation facilities.

• Design, script, and iteratively refine high-fidelity ICU simulation scenarios in collaboration with clinical experts, ensuring authenticity and cognitive challenge across participant experience levels.
• Configure and operate wearable smart glasses and synchronized multimodal recording systems, capturing eye-tracking, audio, video, and digital documentation.
• Recruit and conduct simulation sessions with ICU clinicians across Switzerland, managing data collection, participant coordination, and protocol adherence.
• Preprocess, annotate, and manage a rich multimodal dataset, applying both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods to model clinician attention, verbal reasoning, and documentation behavior.
• Develop and evaluate machine learning models, including unimodal, fusion, and attention-based transformer architectures, to assess the added value of cognitive data streams for clinical decision support.
• Conduct systematic literature reviews across the fields of ICU decision-making, multimodal AI, eye-tracking, and clinical simulation.
• Document and disseminate research findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.
• Contribute to the supervision of Master's students and selected teaching activities within the BMDS lab.

Profile

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Data Science, Cognitive Science, or a related field.
• Strong Python programming skills and experience with PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Interest in multimodal data, time-series analysis, or NLP.
• Excellent English; German or French is an asset for participant interactions.
• Capacity for self-directed work within an interdisciplinary team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and German.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Highly organized with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with eye-tracking or wearable sensor technology.
• Background in clinical simulation, usability evaluation, or human factors.
• Familiarity with speech processing, speaker diarization, or ASR.
• Knowledge of explainable AI methods (SHAP, LIME, attention visualization).
• Exposure to clinical environments or health informatics.

Workplace

As a part of ETH Zurich, you will engage in an innovative work environment that fosters collaboration and excellence.

We Offer

• A fully funded position with a competitive Swiss doctoral salary.
• Access to a unique 90,000+ case clinical dataset and state-of-the-art simulation facilities.
• Opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research with the potential for high impact.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Engagement with diverse communities bridging data science and medicine research leading to high-impact publications.
• A highly motivated, friendly, and collaborative team environment.

We Value Diversity and Sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity, and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to learn how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us - we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So Are We.

To apply, please use the online form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

About ETH Zürich

ETH Zurich is one of the world's leading universities specializing in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research, and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.