Senior Research Fellow / Research Fellow (Data Scientist)

The postholder will join the research team led by Dr John Busby and Prof. Liam Heaney working on several projects related to chronic inflammatory disease, with an initial focus on chronic respiratory disease (e.g. severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and interstitial lung disease). The post is funded by the HDR-UK as part of the Inflammation and Immunity Driver Project 2 (DP2) programme.

The applicant will initially lead on projects building a UK-wide linked cohort of patients with asthma using data from UK Trusted Research Environments – this work will be piloted in Northern Ireland and will then be expanded to other UK nations. This linked data will create a unique resource and will be used for both retrospective and prospective research projects. In parallel, similar linkage will be advanced in other disease areas in collaboration with UK partners in the DP2 programme, with opportunities to lead on specific research programmes in this area.

The post holder will be responsible for liaising with local stakeholders in Northern Ireland to achieve the appropriate approvals for all NI linked data. They will work with partners from across the UK to ensure that standardised definitions are aligned with similar datasets in England, Scotland and Wales to ensure future interoperability. The post holder will take the lead in conducting relevant analyses and publishing these in high impact respiratory journals.

About the person:
The succesful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following criteria:

1. Hold a relevant PhD in epidemiology, applied mathematics/statistics or related discipline.
2. Have substantial relevant experience in quantitative research.
3. Have substantial experience of using statistical packages such as STATA to conduct reproducible research.
4. Hold a high academic standing with a growing reputation in research within subject specialism.
5. Have a sustained publication record in peer reviewed/refereed journals or invited presentations that are REF returnable.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information on our website.

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

What we offer:
Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more on our website.

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.

For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit our website,

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