Research Associate

The Department of Psychology is seeking a skilled and highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate to support a 2-year ESRC and FAPESP Research Foundation funded project. 

About the role 

The project will explore longitudinal pathways linking childhood trauma, mental health and physical health in youth living in low-and-middle-income countries.

The research, led by Professors Sarah Halligan (University of Bath) and Alicia Matijasevich (University of São Paulo), will determine the extent to which mental health difficulties may lead to early emerging risk for cardiovascular disease among Brazilian youth exposed to trauma, providing a foundation for the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies.

The Bath-based Research Associate on the project will apply innovative longitudinal data-analytic approaches to explore data from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study, which is based in Brazil. Specifically, you will be actively involved in i) designing quantitative analyses and data preparation (e.g., imputation to address missing data, construction of variables), ii) quantitative data analysis (e.g., using structural equation modelling) according to open science practices, and iii) preparing manuscripts for publication and other dissemination activities such as conference presentations.

There will be ample opportunity for international collaboration and networking through the project, with collaborators from the University of Bristol and University of São Paulo. The post holder will work closely with a Brazil-based Research Associate also working on the project and there will be opportunities to travel to Brazil for research and training activities.

The post-holder will join Bath’s thriving Child Mental Health and Development research group, which recently received £11million from NIHR to support training and capacity development. The Research Associate will be supported in learning new methodological and analytical techniques and there are key activities and budget available to support the Research Associate’s professional development. 

You will be encouraged and supported in pursuing career development opportunities. The researcher will also have access to Researcher Wellbeing support, such as the peer-led Researcher Wellbeing Group, for those who are researching emotionally changing topics.

As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year.

We have one position available offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) fixed-term basis. The post is funded until 31/12/2026.

About you We welcome applications from candidates who have:

• A PhD in Psychology or related discipline, with a strong quantitative research element.
• Experience or interest in the field of childhood trauma and/or mental and physical health.
• Competence in using statistical packages such as R or STATA.
• A commitment to research integrity and reproducibility (e.g., preregistration, open science) 
• Excellent team working, communication, and time management skills. 
• Ability/willingness to travel to Brazil is desirable.

Informal inquiries about this role should be directed to:

Prof Sarah Halligan (slh54@bath.ac.uk) or Dr Graeme Fairchild (gf353@bath.ac.uk) 

What we can offer you:

• a very generous employer contributory pension scheme
• generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• we are a family-friendly University and with an increasingly agile workforce, are open to flexible working arrangements
• an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities

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