Research Assistant in Population Health Modelling at University of Sheffield

This post is part-time: working 17.5 hours a week

Are you interested in working for a world top 100 University?

We are seeking to appoint a Research Assistant to engage in world-leading research in population health modelling. The primary focus of this role is to contribute to the development of a microsimulation model of alcohol-related harm during the COVID-19 period in the United States, in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada. This will involve data pre-processing, model development and calibration, and conducting scenario modelling to estimate excess mortality resulting from alcohol use among different population subgroups during the COVID-19 pandemic. You will work on the hands-on implementation of the revised modelling workflow, including designing the enhanced model, implementing it using the R programming language, and thoroughly testing its functionality. During the project you will be able to draw on world-leading expertise in health behaviours, epidemiology, alcohol policy and health inequalities. The post will be based in the Complex Optimization and Decision-Making Laboratory, led by Professor Robin Purshouse, within the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE) with support from Dr Charlotte Buckley in ACSE.

We are looking for an individual with a good quality first degree in a numerate subject (e.g. mathematics, science, engineering, or psychology), who is working towards the completion of their PhD. You must have postgraduate mathematical modelling research experience in dynamic systems modelling or data modelling, including programming skills and/or formal methods for the design of research software.

The Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE) is one of the largest departments devoted to the subject in Europe, with 35 academic staff, 49 research staff, 29 professional and support staff and nearly 600 taught and research students. We are a world-leading research department, as evidenced by the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) exercise. We are proud to have come 8th in the REF 2021 in terms of the quality of our research. 96 per cent of our research is rated in the highest two categories in the REF 2021, meaning it is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

We’re one of the best not-for-profit organisations to work for in the UK. The University’s Total Reward Package includes a competitive salary, a generous Pension Scheme and annual leave entitlement, as well as access to a range of learning and development courses to support your personal and professional development.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

To find out what makes the University of Sheffield a remarkable place to work, watch this short film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LblLk18zmo, and follow @sheffielduni and @ShefUniJobs on Twitter for more information.

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