Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (Tenure Track)
Engineering & Applied Science
Salary: £29,972 to £35,788 per annum
Contract Type: Fixed Term (for four years)
Basis: Full Time
Closing Date: Tuesday 03 May 2011
Interview Date: Wednesday 25 May 2011
Reference: R110147
Understanding the mechanisms of age-related transitions in peoples’ health is a key first step to interventions that will help people to age well. This understanding will come in part from fundamental biology and the study of social interactions, but a key tool will be the (statistical) analysis of data to build a picture of both population and individual effects. The questions we want to answer include: when does change happen? Can we reliably predict change? What is the effect of an intervention on change? A wide range of analytical methods will be relevant and are expected to play a key role: probabilistic modelling, data visualization and exploratory analysis; segmentation; variable selection; time series prediction; change point detection; and survival analysis.
We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated Research Fellow who can lead a coherent research programme to answer these questions and raise research funds to carry out the work.
Two important sources of large-scale data are the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the West Midlands Observatory Public Health Observatory (WMPHO). In addition to these large-scale studies, there will be many opportunities to collaborate with other researchers in ARCHA and create statistical models for applications in fundamental biology and biochemistry, brain function, sensor measurement etc. The Fellow is expected to form and strengthen research links between ARCHA and the Non-linearity and Complexity Research Group.
The suitable applicant is expected to have background in probabilistic modelling, pattern analysis or statistics. Experience with multi-disciplinary research, particularly in a health or ageing context, would be an advantage. At the end of the fixed-term appointment, the Fellow can expect to progress to an established academic post in mathematics within the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Aston University subject to meeting probationary requirements.
Informal enquiries can be directed to Prof Ian Nabney (
i.t.nabney@aston.ac.uk<
mailto:i.t.nabney@aston.ac.uk>) or Prof David Saad (
d.saad@aston.ac.uk<
mailto:d.saad@aston.ac.uk>).
More information is available at
http://jobs.aston.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=R110147