We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated Senior Research Associate in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Healthcare, to work within the recently established Podium Institute for Sports Medicine at the University of Oxford. This full-time post is initially fixed term for 1 year and potentially extendable for a further 2 years, subject to funding. The postholder will work under the supervision of Professor Liang He.

 

Established in October 2022, the Podium Institute sits within the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) in the University’s Department of Engineering Science and is supported by a £25m 10-year donation to the University. It constitutes a world-unique ecosystem within which to develop and validate new technologies for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of sport injuries, with a particular emphasis on safety rather than performance in the community and youth sport (11-18 years of age).

 

You will be part of an interdisciplinary team of pioneering researchers, with the primary aim to develop cutting-edge robotics and AI technologies that will revolutionize how we understand and respond to human behaviour in both real-time and long-term contexts. You will play a crucial role in the design and creation of innovative wearable robotics, sensor technologies, or complex algorithms for human behaviour modeling. These may include wearable robotics, smart clothing, and any other relevant robotic technologies. Your responsibilities will encompass developing new robotic hardware and computational models to interpret and predict human behavior using soft sensors, wearable exoskeleton, and advanced simulation.

 

You will be expected to devote a substantial portion of your research time to the field of Sports Medicine. Examples of areas of research are: i) developing hardware robotic simulators of human anatomical model with soft actuators, soft sensors, and 3D printing technologies to evidence the change of sports regulations or testing new protective devices; ii) developing wearable robotics that can assist the training of young athletes, providing additional protection or guidance; iii) develop models of digital athletes to study the relationship between sports injuries, behaviours in sports and training instruction; iv) develop assistive robotics that can support the rehabilitation process of athletic injuries. Additionally, you will have the chance of working in other areas of soft robotic research for healthcare applications with world-leading engineering and clinical teams who aim to have a real impact on individuals’ lives.

 

You will hold a relevant PhD/DPhil or be near completion, together with relevant experience in the field of robotics, biomedical engineering, information engineering, computer science or other field relevant to the proposed area of research.  You will also have proven programming experience in Python MATLAB or C/C++ and experience on programming microcontrollers for wearable devices.

 

You will help ensure healthy and vibrant research environment within The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine at the University of Oxford. This will involve leading, devising, coordinating, and supervising research projects in this area, including the work involved in the collaborations with project partners, guidance to researchers and students, and applying for further funding to underpin the research.

 

Informal enquiries may be addressed to liang.he@eng.ox.ac.uk.

 

For more information about working at the Department, see  www.eng.ox.ac.uk/about/work-with-us/

 

Only online applications received before midday on Monday, 13 November 2023 can be considered. You will be required to upload your CV, a supporting statement, a research proposal, and the details of two referees as part of your online application. Please read the job description document for more details.

 

The Department holds an Athena Swan Bronze award, highlighting its commitment to promoting women in Science, Engineering and Technology.