Application closing date: 05/08/2020
Salary: £33,797 - £35,845 per annum
Job category/type: Research

Job description

We are recruiting for a Research Fellow in Urban Design and Health. We are recruiting for a Research Fellow in Urban Design and Public Health. This is an exciting position to join a collaborative project between the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast and the Transport, Health and Urban Design Research Hub, University of Melbourne. The successful candidate will become a member of the Centre for Public Health research team working alongside Dr Ruth Hunter and Dr Leandro Garcia in a program of research funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

As a member of this project team, the Research Fellow will be part of a multidisciplinary team with experience across public health, epidemiology, health promotion, urban planning, complex systems, computational modelling, artificial intelligence, software engineering, mathematics, and computer vision. The successful candidate will have the opportunity and support to be creative and academically brave, add their own ideas and innovations to the project, establish and pursue a research theme of their own, and conduct high-quality research that will resonate at local, national, and global levels. The aim of this project is to generate new evidence related to the intersection of urban design and health, understanding and estimating the improvements in non-communicable diseases (NCD) and health inequalities in UK and Australian cities that can be achieved through tangible alteration in urban design. It also aims to place new tools in the hands of urban designers, planners and the broader public so they can advocate and act on their recommendations.

The successful candidate will be supported by the faculty Postdoctoral Development Centre as part of a wider Queen’s offering which provides outstanding support to researchers to help move into an independent research or academic post. It may be possible for the successful candidate to start the position initially remotely and there will be opportunities to travel to Melbourne to work directly with collaborators.

The successful candidate must have:

• Have, or about to obtain, a PhD in public health, epidemiology, computer science, biostatistics, engineering, or a related area.
• At least 3 years relevant research experience.
• Strong track record and relevant research experience in the application of a range of statistical and computational approaches relevant to the interrogation of large population-based and spatial datasets.
• Demonstrated skills in using at least one statistical and or spatial analysis package (e.g., Python, R, Stata, QGIS, ArcGIS) and capacity and willingness to learn others

The School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences is part of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences. The School is the perfect balance of world-class teaching resources and internationally recognised research infrastructure and comprises of three education and three research centres.

The Centre for Public (CPH) Health is one of three research Centres in the School and is based on the Royal Victoria Hospital Site. CPH is committed to identifying the epidemiological and genetic risk factors that are important for the health of the individual and of the population and to develop screening and interventions to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the future. Thus advancing the health of the public at a regional, national and international level, by increasing knowledge and influencing clinical and public health practice and policy.

Queen’s University Belfast is a driver of innovation and talent based on excellence. Throughout the University, our academics collaborate across disciplines and with outside agencies and institutions on projects of world significance. We are connected and networked with strategic partnerships across the world, helping us to expand our impact on wider society locally, nationally and globally. The University is committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

We are a leader in gender equality and diversity, and are one of the UK’s most successful universities in the Athena SWAN initiative which promotes gender equality and career progression. The University and the School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences holds an Athena SWAN Silver award in recognition of our commitment and success in addressing gender equality, representation, progression and success for all our staff.

We are ranked 1^st in the UK for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, (Innovate UK) 9^th in the UK for University facilities (Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018) and 14^th in the UK for research quality (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019).

Based in Belfast, a modern capital city, our beautiful campus is surrounded by abundant acres of parkland and is renowned as one of the safest and affordable cities in the UK. The choice of local Schools from pre-nursery upwards are some of the best available and we are immensely proud of what our city and our University will offer you.

For full job details and essential/desirable criteria please refer to the candidate information link on our website by clicking apply. You must clearly demonstrate how you meet the criteria when you submit your application. For further information or assistance contact Resourcing Team, Queen's University Belfast, BT7 1NN. Telephone (028) 9097 3044 or email on resourcing@qub.ac.uk

The University is committed to equality of opportunity and to selection on merit. We welcome applications from all sections of society and particularly from people with a disability. 

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but, in particular circumstances, may be renewed or made permanent, subject to availability of funding. 

Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof Frank Kee via email to f.kee@qub.ac.uk

Candidate Information
About the School
Further Information on the Centre
About Ruth Hunter
About Leandro Garcia
Further Information for International Applicants
Note to EEA Applicants on Brexit