Research Associate - Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences - 105305 - Grade 6

Position Details

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £32,296 to £34,866 with potential progression once in post to £39,105

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2027

Closing date: 19th February 2025

Please note: We are also advertising this position at Grade 7 Research Fellow (104098) and only one hire will be made for both advertisements. 

Candidates must be able to commence in post by 1st April 2025

Background

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an ambitious MSc graduate in the area of computer and/or data science with the ability and confidence to develop machine learning and artificial intelligence research applications in health data science. The successful applicant will work with Dr. Andreas Karwath within the Centre for Health Data Science on a Wellcome Leap Inc. – ‘Untangling Addiction’ funded project, which aims to develop advanced multi-modal integrative machine learning approaches to predict the opioid dependence of patients after major surgery. 

The successful candidate will have a strong background in computer science and/or data science with an interest in state-of the-art machine learning, artificial intelligence and multi-modal data integration. Experience with applying explainable machine learning/AI approaches within a medical or clinical setting, in particular in combining different modalities (EHR, biomarkers, longitudinal data, multi-omics, EEGs, NLP, etc.), is a clear advantage.

Role Summary

Fixed term for 24 months from April 2025 offering a considerable scope for innovation in the interdisciplinary research. 

The post holder will be part of the Centre for Health Data Science, a hub of collaborative expertise made up of academics and clinicians, focussed on learning health systems, artificial intelligence for health, digital epidemiology, and clinical bioinformatics. Strong links also exist with the Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trust via the Institute of Translational Medicine and to the HDRUK Midlands.

This post will be funded by the $6M Wellcome Leap programme awarded to the University of Birmingham, entitled Predicting Persistent Opioid Usage After Surgery: Integrating Multi-Omics, Neurobiology, and AI-Interviews. 

As the successful candidate you will have strong expertise in developing and/or applying machine learning algorithms in Python and associated ML/AI libraries. Educated to MSc level in (Health) Data Science, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a closely aligned area, you will be familiar with good practice in research software engineering and high-performance computing. Having relevant experience translating computer models to clinical and medical applications will be advantageous to you. 

Curiosity led, with good communication skills, you will thrive working in a highly interdisciplinary environment. You will be equally happy communicating with computer & data scientists, clinicians, and neuroscientists. Finally, you will possess a demonstrable ability to write up scientific findings for publication in a timely and succinct manner.

The successful candidate will benefit from a range of training opportunities (e.g., seminar series) while in post and will work as part of an interdisciplinary team made up of computer scientists, statisticians, neuroscientists and bioinformaticians and work closely with our collaborators in the 7th Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (SAHSYSU), Shenzhen, China. 

In your online application please include detail on how you match the person specification.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Data pre-processing of a wide variety of clinical data (structured, unstructured and omics)
• Developing novel computer-based models, techniques and methods in close collaboration with the project investigators
• Analyse research data as directed
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Develop or adapt techniques, models and methods
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Provide guidance as required to support staff and any students who may be assisting with research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the research
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Person Specification

• An MSc degree (or equivalent) in the areas of (Health) Data Science, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or related discipline
• Practical experience in data pre-processing and in applying machine learning/AI methods to clinical and medical challenges with additional focus on multi-modal data integration, cross-sectional & longitudinal data and explainable AI
• Excellent programming skills in Python and practical knowledge of current machine learning and deep learning libraries and frameworks (NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face, etc.)
• Experience in High Performance Computing and Linux-based systems is a plus
• Ability to analyse information and communicate effectively
• Ability to access and organise resources successfully
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly. characteristics are treated equally and fairly

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Dr Andreas Karwath, email: a.karwath@bham.ac.uk 

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.