Research Fellow

Salary: As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7, salary £38,249

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to April 2027

Background

We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed data scientist who wants to work in the thriving interdisciplinary environment of the Centre for Human Reproductive Science (ChRS) at the University of Birmingham.

You will be part of an exciting international project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, between ChRS and international partners at the Universities of Münster (project lead) and Dundee. This project is seeking to define precise thresholds in in-vitro sperm function assays to better diagnose male fertility and contribute to non-hormonal contraceptive research. 

Your role will be to use mathematical modelling and data science to develop methods for understanding sperm flagellar analysis data from the FAST (www.flagellarcapture.com) software package (designed by Dr Gallagher). The key aim is to be able to quantify subtypes of sperm swimming and how they contribute to fertilising success. While there are no requirements for specific tools or approaches you may have, we are keen to hire somebody with experience of working with health data or other data modelling approaches to extract understanding.

You will join a team that comprises Andrologists, Healthcare Scientists, Research Nurses and Mathematicians, working together to develop tools and carry out experiments to quantify male fertility. The team is led by Dr Meurig Gallagher, an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in applied mathematics and computation. It is strongly recommended that you contact Meurig before applying, to discuss the nature of the role and understand what it means to work in a truly interdisciplinary environment.

Main Duties

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Acquire, analyse and interpret research data acquired using a variety of research methods and apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings through, for example, talks, publications, seminars, posters
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods 
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Participate in public and patient engagement events to shape research, develop understanding and share outputs
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Person Specification

• PhD (or near to completion) in Data Science / Mathematics / or another relevant computational subject
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly and to a range of audiences
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively 

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Meurig Gallagher, email: m.t.gallagher@bham.ac.uk 

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working

Closes: 07/05/2025

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