Requisition ID: 26065
Location:
Newcastle, GB
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Working Pattern: Full Time
Posted Date: 22 Aug 2023
Salary
Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum
Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 05 September 2023
The Role
Your role is to perform cutting-edge research applying AI/machine learning in biomedical image analysis, specifically using deep learning to understand patterns of healthy and unhealthy ageing in optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal images. You will work as the primary postdoctoral research associate on a UKRI-funded project, together with an interdisciplinary team of computer scientists, neuroscientists, ophthalmologists, informaticians, optometrists, and other clinicians. You will carry out key tasks including curating OCT image datasets and designing neural networks for classification and prediction of age and health. You will take part in regular project meetings, present and discuss results, and help guide the research direction and decisions. You will contribute to publications and conference presentations, as well as, where appropriate, help supervise Masters and doctoral students working on related projects with the team.
This project builds on the OCTAHEDRON project (OCTAHEDRON | OCTAHEDRON | Newcastle University (ncl.ac.uk)), which developed software to analyse retinal OCT images for early signs of neurodegenerative disease.
This post is fixed term until 31 August 2025. For informal enquiries contact: Professor Anya Hurlbert, anya.hurlbert@ncl.ac.uk or Professor Jaume Bacardit Jaume.bacardit@ncl.ac.uk
Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here.
Find out more about our Research Institutes here.
As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.
Key Accountabilities
• Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial ‘added value’
• Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants
• Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute.
• May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment
• Keep abreast of new, relevant technologies and software, and contribute to communications with key personnel in supply and support companies
• Help to maintain web-based software and data repositories for lab or public access where appropriate (e.g. github repositories)
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
• Experience in the application of machine learning for biomedical image analysis
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capability
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others
• Experience of research with clear transferable skills
• Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications
• High level programming skills in several languages, including python
• Expertise in image-oriented deep learning
Desirable
• Expertise with retinal OCT image analysis
• Experience with transfer learning
• Strong mathematical skills
Attributes and Behaviour
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team
• Keenness to discuss and debate alternative solutions to complex problems
• Strong work ethic
• Ability to work to deadlines, while staying clam
• Willingness to help and educate others in your area of expertise
• Active enjoyment of and contributions to diversity in the workplace
Qualifications
• A PhD in Machine Learning or closely related field (for appointment at Research Associate level)
• Close to submission of a PhD (for appointment at Research Assistant level)
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 26065