Research Assistant/ Associate in AI for Health

Salary: £33,951.00 - £38,784.00 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: 1st May 2026

The Role

We are delighted to be seeking a motivated individual to join our project, in the School of Computing at Newcastle. The aim of the project is to develop digital innovations for patient-centric microsampling. As part of the technical development, the post holder will be working closely with a consortium of academic and industry partners across the Europe and US (including multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and GSK) to ensure the delivery of data and digital solutions for collecting and analysing small-volume blood samples.

The post holder will research and design advanced machine learning, AI and statistical methods to process and analyse data generated from microsampling, which may encompass concentrations of analytes, demographic information, among others.

The post holder will be expected to take the lead on addressing the following project objectives:

• Engage with research and industrial partners and wider stakeholders to identify business needs, challenges and new opportunities for digital innovations in microsampling, and effectively translate them into actionable use cases.
• Develop responsible AI and statistical solutions tailored to the identified digital use cases, laying the foundation for future research and the broader adoption of microsampling.
• Implement methods to enhance the trustworthiness and robustness of analytical results and predictive outcomes for improved user acceptance.

This post is available immediately on a full-time, fixed-term basis until 30th April 2028. For all informal enquiries, please contact Dr Wanqing Zhao ( [email protected] ).

To apply, please upload your CV and cover letter evidencing how your skills and experiences align to the criteria as outlined in person specification of the job description.

As part of our commitment to career development for research staff, 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

• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that leads to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
• To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To be involved in student supervision, as appropriate, and assist with the assessment of the knowledge of students.

• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by participation in the undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees, etc. and by attending relevant training and development courses.

The post-holder is employed to work on a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Evidence of being able to conduct high-quality research in one or more areas of AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Digital Health.
• Publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.
• Good programming skills in Python, R, Java, or Matlab.

Desirable:

• Experience of research in analysing healthcare data (e.g. EHRs).
• Evidence of collaboration with industries, policy makers, or institutions.
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics or industry partners.
• Experience with software delivery to a research sponsor.

Attributes and Behaviour

Essential:

• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to meet deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable:

• Demonstrable commitment to the values of equality and diversity in all aspects of your work.
• Ability to set research goals, be self-motivated and proactive.
• A keen eye for visual presentation, software design, and in writing clear, concise, elegant code.
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary research.

Qualifications

Essential:

• A PhD awarded - Research Associate, or PhD nearing completion - Research Assistant, in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics/Statistics or a closely related subject.

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 Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 29226