Research Associate/Fellow (fixed term)

Short info about job

Detail information about job Research Associate/Fellow (fixed term). Terms and conditions vacancy

Location: University Park

Salary: £26,495 to £32,548 per annum, depending on skills and experience (minimum £29799 with relevant PhD).

Applications are invited to work with Dr Gary Mirams on a project funded by the Wellcome Trust & Royal Society and the University of Nottingham entitled “Improving assessment of drug-induced cardiac risk with mathematical electrophysiology models".

Background: ion currents are important for many biological processes, for instance: regulating ionic concentrations within cells; passing signals (such as nerve impulses); or co-ordinating contraction of muscle (skeletal muscle and also the heart, diaphragm, gut etc.). We are modelling how pharmaceutical compounds can block ion currents, sometimes leading to fatal heart rhythm changes. There are challenges in identifying which set of equations is most appropriate. Often it appears different structures and/or parameter values could fit the training data equally well, but may make different predictions in new situations.

Aim: we have been developing novel experimental designs to provide more information about ion current behaviour from shorter experiments. We would like to improve our techniques – to describe the ion current and also to characterise drug binding to the channels the currents flow through.

Approach: This project will develop and test novel approaches for developing mathematical models of how pharmaceutical drug compounds affect ion channel currents in the heart, focussing on experimental design, model selection and model discrepancy techniques, alongside more traditional parameterization problems.

Candidates must hold or be near completion of a PhD, or equivalent, in a relevant branch of mathematics/statistics or a closely related field such as physics.

Candidates should be confident, organised, have good communication skills and enjoy working as part of a team as well as independently. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to writing scientific papers, and to disseminating the research at relevant workshops and conferences. They should have evidence that the quality and quantity of their previous research outputs is commensurate with their level of experience. Please see the further particulars for full job selection criteria and project details.

In recognition of its commitment to promoting women in science, The University of Nottingham is one of a small number of universities to hold a Silver Athena SWAN Award.

This full-time position is available from 1 October 2017, or as soon as possible thereafter, and will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of 24 months.

For information about the School of Mathematical Sciences, which has strong and active research groups in areas including Statistics, see: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mathematics/index.aspx.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Gary Mirams email: [email protected]. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

Further details:

The University of Nottingham is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.