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 £35,880 to £45,163 with potential progression once in post to £47,874

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2026

Closing date: 3rd December 2024

Background

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an ambitious PhD graduate or post-doctoral data scientist with the ability and confidence to lead the development and implementation of AI frameworks and the ambition to identify potential translational opportunities. The successful candidate will have extensive experience with AI tools and methods, big data analysis, statistical methodologies and machine learning

The EU Hypermarker Research Project funds this post. The heart pumps blood to arteries to oxygenate the different tissues around the body. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, increases pressure on artery walls, forcing the heart to work harder to circulate blood. This serious medical condition leads to associated health risks and accounts for a significant portion of healthcare-related costs in the EU. Prescribing the most appropriate pharmacological treatment can be challenging as multiple options are available. 

The key objective of the Hypermarker project is to use AI and deep-learning techniques to develop a decision support tool for predicting treatment response to the different antihypertensive drugs. This will enable clinicians to make informed decisions on the best drug intervention for individual patients under personalized medicine avenue. 

Role Summary

Fixed term until 31.12.2026 offering a considerable scope for innovation in the interdisciplinary research and option for extension. 

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 digital epidemiology, clinical bioinformatics, learning health systems, and artificial intelligence for health. Strong links also exist with the Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trust via the Institute of Translational Medicine.

The purpose of this role is to lead the EU-funded Hypermarker project and interact with other stakeholders across multiple departments. Candidates are expected to have a history of developing models using large data sources and methods (for example: Deep learning, GAN etc). The successful applicant will use their computational and statistical expertise to identify novel research opportunities to better understand complex diseases. 

Translational medicine is at the centre of our research, with a focus on providing insights for clinical decision making and developing tools to aid patient wellbeing. The applicant will be involved in the development of these tools, such as prioritizing variants to identify drivers in the multiple diseases using the statistical methods to predict therapeutic responses. This will involve preparation of data through rigorous quality control and gold standard bioinformatics pipelines.

The position requires the ability to independently take responsibility over scientific projects, strong teamwork and communication skills, reliability, attention to detail, and effective time management. Applicants should have a PhD (or near to completion) or equivalent experience in Health Data Science, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, including a firm grounding in analysis and implementation of big data. Candidates with excellent computational and quantitative skills are encouraged to apply. 

Main Duties

• Develop clinical decision support systems with diverse clinical data sets. 
• Implement appropriate ML algorithms and tools for clinical support. 
• Manage and analyse large datasets for analysis using efficient data structures and providing infrastructure for sharing resources.
• Drive novel applications and take responsibility over large and diverse projects.
• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required.
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding. For example, Deep learning-based methods, GAN, generative AI etc. 
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc.
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline.
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods.
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews.
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters.
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research.
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines.
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• PhD (or near to completion) in health data science, computer science, artificial intelligence, or similar, or PhD in a healthcare area with a substantial omics component in their work. Candidates with excellent ML/AI, computational and quantitative skills are encouraged to apply. 
• Ability to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of development of decision system.
  • Innovate and develop ideas into grant proposals.
  • Learn and keep abreast of latest technological, methodological and software developments.
  • Write concise and timely scientific papers and reports.
  • Plan and prioritise work effectively to meet deadlines.
• Expertise scripts/functions in R/Python, especially working with libraries and packages useful for ML communities. 
• Experience working with omics data would be an advantage as well as experience with semantic technologies, FAIR and ontologies.
• Ability to interact with academic and industry partners and explain complex ideas to non-scientists in a comprehensible way. 
• Ability to work in a heterogeneous environment of diversely skilled individuals.
• Experience in High Performance Computing facilities e.g. AWS and linux systems.
• 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.

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Dr Animesh Acharjee, email: a.archarjee@bham.ac.uk or Prof. Georgios Gkoutos, email: g.gkoutos@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.