Postdoctoral Research Assistant in AI for Health Technologies

We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Assistant
in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Health Technologies, to work within the
recently established Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at
the University of Oxford. This full-time post is fixed-term for up 12 months,
with the possibility of an extension for a further 2 years, subject to
funding. The Postdoctoral Researcher will work under the supervision of
Professor Mauricio Villarroel.





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 sports injuries,
with a particular emphasis on safety rather than performance in the community
and youth sports (11-18 years of age).





You will be part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers with the main aim
to develop the next generation of sensing technologies and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) models to construct new personalised biomarkers of health in
the context of evidence-based interdisciplinary sports injury prevention
strategies. You will be responsible for the development of new digital health
technologies and AI models to identify patterns of meaningful physiological
change using multimodal sensing modalities such as video cameras, smartphones,
wearable medical devices, body-worn sensors such as smart mouthguards, and
flexible wearable sensors. This will also require expertise in the development
of computer vision methods that can detect, segment, and analyse potential
causes of injury from the high-frame-rate multi-angle video footage that is
increasingly available at both professional and amateur sport events.





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) identify
the factors that precede sudden cardiac death in competitive young athletes;
ii) study the effects of sleep disorders and disruption of circadian rhythms
on the incidence of sports-related injuries and other major clinical problems;
iii) study the potential relationship between exposure to head impacts and the
development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
related dementias later in life; iv) develop algorithms to evaluate the
behavioural mechanisms associated with response to stress and its impact on
the incidence and recovery from athletic injuries; v) identify physiological
factors and other biomarkers to assess the effectiveness of pharmacological
interventions and other treatments for sports injuries as an exemplar.
Additionally, you will have the opportunity to work in other areas of Digital
Health in collaboration with world-leading engineering and clinical teams.





You will help ensure a healthy and vibrant research environment within The
Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology 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 extend the research.





You should hold a relevant PhD/DPhil or be near completion (doctoral thesis
must have been submitted) with experience in the field of biomedical
engineering, information engineering, electrical engineering, computer science
or other field relevant to the proposed area of research. Proven programming
experience in Python, MATLAB or C/C++ is also essential, as well as expertise
in the analysis of time series data, such as the Electrocardiogram (ECG), the
Photoplethysmogram (PPG) and other commonly signals recorded in hospitals.
Prior experience in computer vision, biomedical imaging and the analysis of
data recorded by wearable devices, body-worn sensors or other flexible
wearable sensors.





Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor Mauricio Villarroel
(mauricio.villarroel@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 **26 February 2024** can be
considered. You will be required to upload your CV, supporting statement and
research proposal in a **single PDF document not exceeding 10 pages** in
normal font and spacing. Please refer to the job description document for
further details on the role and the required format on **How to Apply** for
the role.





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