Research Associate (Fixed Term) at University of Cambridge

The MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge are offering an exciting opportunity to join a vi-brant research group at a leading university, to contribute to important research on the characterization of dynamic environmental exposures that contribute to public health. We are seeking to appoint a Research Associate, with a track record of using geographical information systems (GIS), and a strong quantitative background, to work on the research project “AI-enabled targeting of public health interventions through dy-namic characterization of the environment”, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The cost of non-communicable disease in human, social and economic terms is staggering, but to a signifi-cant extent is avoidable. Designing cities to maximize human health is an urgent global priority. Research is shedding light on characteristics of the built environment that are most important for public health and sub-ject to change. However, traditional spatial epidemiological research is limited in the extent that it can ac-count for the dynamic movement of individuals and their rapidly changing environments. Developing meth-ods to capture variation in disease and risk factors by person, time and place, will be a cornerstone of cut-ting-edge and impactful future epidemiological research. New technology can provide a dynamic characteri-zation of the environment by integrating and supplementing existing real-time data, which in conjunction with human movement data can enable a step change in spatial epidemiology.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to contribute to an applied research project of direct relevance to government policy and the public’s health.

You will be expected to: lead development of a detailed study protocol in collaboration with non-academic stakeholders; work closely with a data scientist to clean and process large volumes of GPS data; collate da-ta on risk factors within the built environment (e.g. green space, traffic count, food retail); use a knowledge graph (AI) to characterize dynamic exposures to these environmental characteristics; conduct epidemiologi-cal analyses using these data; write up results in the form of peer-reviewed publications as first author; and disseminate results to academic and non-academic stakeholders, including conference presentations.

You will be educated to PhD level and have a proven track-record of using GIS to manipulate, map and summarise large volumes of complex location and attribute data. You might have some basic programming experience, for example python or VBA. You will also have strong quantitative analysis skills. Experience of knowledge graphs or other AI methods is desirable but not expected, as you will be given training and sup-port. However, you will need to demonstrate having understood and adopted new and advanced analytical methods in previous work. You will have experience of writing up research outputs for a variety of audienc-es, including as peer-reviewed publications (including manuscripts submitted, under review or in press). Ex-cellent time management, oral and written communication skills, with a track record of problem solving, managing your own workload, working independently and meeting deadlines, will be required.

This fixed post is available until March 2025. The role is line managed by Dr. Jenna Panter, to meet the re-quirements of the project, which is led by Dr. Soren Brage. Other collaborators on the project include Dr. Thomas Burgoine, Dr. Louise Foley and Dr. Jethro Akroyd (all University of Cambridge).

The MRC Epidemiology Unit, where you will be based, is a department within the University of Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine, situated within the Institute of Metabolic Science on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with its excellent public transport links to the historic city centre of Cambridge and its surrounding towns and villages.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click the apply button above.

The Unit’s mission is to study the genetic, developmental and environmental factors that cause obesity, diabetes and related metabolic disorders and develop strategies for their prevention. As part of its remit, the MRC Epidemiology Unit is focused on developing understanding of the population-level de-terminants of dietary and physical activity behaviours and on evaluating interventions that impact on these behaviours. You will be joining a vibrant and friendly team of researchers, within a world-class research environment.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 March 2025 in the first instance.

Please ensure that you upload a covering letter, CV and a completed Additional Information for Clinical Researchers form in the Upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application.

Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager.

Please contact Dr. Jenna Panter (Jenna.Panter@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk) or Professor Soren Brage (Soren.Brage@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk) with informal enquiries.

The closing date for applications is 8^th November 2023.

Please quote reference SJ38904 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.