Postdoctoral Research Associate

About us

The applicant will join the new Wellcome-funded Imaging Machine learning And Genetics in Neurodevelopment (IMAGINE) lab, in the Research Department of Biomedical Computing.The post will benefit from the extensive and broad expertise in AI and biomedical computing at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences. The work will be done in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team at KCL and UCL, Dr Armin Raznahan (Section for Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institutes of Health) and clinicians at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

About the role

We are seeking an ambitious and motivated computational research scientist to join our new Wellcome-funded Imaging Machine learning And Genetics in Neurodevelopment (IMAGINE) lab.

The project aims to 

1. Integrate multi-scale neuro-genomic and imaging datasets across brain regions, cell types and developmental stages
2. Develop machine learning / AI tools to predict and characterise how genomic signatures contribute to disease risk in epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders and 
3. Link neurodevelopmental genetic characteristics with in vivo MRI and clinical phenotypes

The role will involve pre-processing and curation of large neurogenomic datasets, developing an open-source platform for genomic data visualization, and training deep learning models. The post-holder will also be expected to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team of engineers, data scientists and clinicians.

This is a full time post being offered as a fixed term contract for 3 years.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified in relevant subject area (or pending results)*
2. Ability to work well as an effective member of a multidisciplinary team and to share and encourage good practice
3. Expertise working with large bioinformatic datasets
4. Excellent verbal and written communication skills
5. Excellent computer programming abilities evidenced by available code
6. Presenting scientific research in the form of papers, posters or oral presentations

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Desirable criteria

1. Expertise in Python programming for Machine and Deep Learning, e.g., sklearn, pytorch, tensorflow
2. Previous experience creating open code
3. Previous experience sharing open data resources

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, via the above ‘Apply’ button. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Closing date: 23 July 2024

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