Research Assistant in Computational & Spatial Pathology

Applicants are invited for a Research Assistant (RA) position at the Nuffield Division of Clinical Laboratory Sciences (Radcliffe Department of Medicine), University of Oxford. The successful candidate will participate in research relating to the improvement of diagnosis and clinical risk stratification of patients with blood cancer using computational pathology, machine learning and spatial ‘omics’. The post holder will join a group of researchers working across the fields of pathology, machine learning / computer vision, bioinformatics and spatial biology.

Background:

The quantitative analysis of histology image data has an increasingly important role in clinical research and offers the promise of augmenting and improving routine clinical diagnostics in blood cancer. This is enhanced by the emergence of spatial ‘omic’ platforms that provide high-resolution characterisation of tissue microenvironments, offering novel opportunities to link molecular information with conventional histology. Our objective is to identify spatial and microenvironmental features in the bone marrow associated with clinical progression in patients with blood cancer. We aim to develop computational image-analysis tools to detect these features in archival diagnostic tissue. This project will involve analysis of spatial multi-omic data (including spatial transcriptomic data), and the development of image-based computational machine-learning tools, ultimately for integration into clinical workflows. The position is ideally suited for a researcher with a strong background in biomedical image analysis, machine learning, bioinformatics, computational biology and/or spatial ‘omics’.

The position: Reporting to Dr Rosalin Cooper (Clinical Lecturer in Histopathology), the post holder will be a member of the Spatial & Translational Pathology research group led by Professor Daniel Royston, with responsibility for carrying out research supported by a Pathological Society Jean Shanks Award. The group works closely and collaboratively with Professor Jens Rittscher’s group at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), University of Oxford.

Candidates will have a BSc/MSc in Biomedical Engineering, Computer Vision or Bioinformatics, or Biochemistry/Molecular Biology (or other relevant field) with relevant experience in computer vision/bioinformatics. The successful candidate will have a strong interest in both spatial ‘omics’ and biomedical imaging/computer vision.

Candidates are encouraged to discuss their needs and preferences for work arrangements at interview. Applications for this vacancy are to be made online. The cover letter should outline how the candidate meets the essential and desirable selection criteria. For further details, please refer to the job description and person specification.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 24 April 2025. Please quote reference number 178713 in all correspondence. Interviews will be held on the week commencing 12 May 2025. For an informal discussion, please contact Dr Rosalin Cooper (rosalin.cooper@ndcls.ox.ac.uk).

Committed to equality and valuing diversity.

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