Data Science Neuroscience PhD Co-op

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com

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Job Function: Career Programs

Job Sub Function: Non-LDP Intern/Co-Op

Job Category: Career Program

All Job Posting Locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America

Job Description:

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is seeking a highly motivated PhD Co-op to join the Neuroscience DDSAI team for Spring 2027. This role offers a unique opportunity to work within the team building out a large single-cell and multi-omics atlas for neuropsychiatry.

The successful candidate will develop and apply advanced computational approaches to understand cell-type-specific disease mechanisms, map cell-cell communication networks, identify dysregulated signaling pathways in neuropsychiatry, and nominate novel therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatry discovery programs at J&J.

In addition to cell-cell communication analyses, the candidate will explore cutting-edge AI/ML approaches that leverage large-scale single-cell, genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and multimodal datasets to systematically prioritize actionable therapeutic targets and pathways.

Key Responsibilities

Cell-Cell Communication and Disease Biology

Benchmark and apply state-of-the-art methods to map cell-cell communication networks in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Identify disease-associated disruptions in ligand-receptor interactions and intercellular biological circuits across  cell populations.

Generate disease-specific cellular interaction maps to uncover novel mechanisms and target discovery opportunities in neuropsychiatric disorders.

AI/ML-driven applications on single-cell atlases for target nomination

Apply cutting-edge AI and single-cell analytics to uncover disease-associated cell states and pathways in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Leverage machine learning, network biology, and foundation models to identify novel therapeutic targets and disease mechanisms.

Integrate single-cell discoveries with orthogonal multi-omics data to support precision target identification in neuropsychiatry.

Drive translational impact through cross-functional collaboration

Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams spanning Data Science, Precision Measures, and Neuropsychiatry Discovery to advance target discovery programs.

Present findings to scientific leaders and contribute to publications, posters, and presentations at internal and external scientific conferences.

Target Hire Date: 01/4/2027 Target End Date: 6/30/2027

Qualifications

Required

Currently pursuing a PhD in one of the following or a related quantitative discipline: Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Data Science.

Strong programming skills in Python and/or R (including effective use of AI-assisted coding).

Experience analyzing high-dimensional multimodal biological datasets, with a preference for single-cell RNASeq, ATACSeq, proteomics, and genomics datasets.

Familiarity with machine learning, statistics, and computational biology methods.

Strong scientific communication and presentation skills.

Preferred

Experience with graph analytics, network biology, knowledge graphs, or generative AI methods.

Familiarity with cell-cell communication modeling tools (LIANA+, Cellchat, MultiNicheNet etc.), pathway analysis, and systems biology.

Candidate Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must:

Be authorized to work in the US without current or future sponsorship requirements.

Remain actively enrolled in their academic program throughout the entire internship period.

Be available to work 40 hours per week during the internship.

Should have a minimum GPA of 3

What you will gain

Hands-on experience applying state-of-the-art AI and computational biology approaches to real-world drug discovery challenges.

Exposure to one of the largest industry efforts in Neuropsychiatry data science, multi-omics, and precision medicine.

Mentorship from multidisciplinary experts spanning data science, neuroscience, genomics, translational biology, and drug discovery.

Opportunity to contribute directly to therapeutic target nomination and portfolio decisions for future Neuropsychiatry medicines.

Permanently authorized to work in the U.S., must not require sponsorship of an employment visa (e.g., H-1B or green card) at the time of application or in the future.  Students currently on CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT usually requires future sponsorship for long term employment and do not meet the requirements for this program unless eligible for an alternative long-term status that does not require company sponsorship.

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

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