Research Fellow (108699-0324)

Applications are invited for a post-doctoral research fellow position as part of multi-institutional collaborative NIHR-funded project under the supervision of Dr Martine J Barons (Statistics) and Dr Munehiro Asally (Life Sciences) (asallylab.com). You will develop a computational model and a data-analysis pipeline for an innovative rapid live bacteria detection technology utilising electrical stimulation and fluorescence imaging, the technology developed by a University spinout, Cytecom Ltd (https://www.cytecom.co.uk/).

Bacterial infections are the second leading cause of death worldwide. In the UK, 130,000 bloodstream infections (BSIs) are detected annually. When untreated, BSIs can quickly deteriorate into sepsis, septic shock, and death.  This is worsened by the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In fact, AMR is predicted to become the leading cause of death, exceeding cancer, by 2050. A key preventative measure is to quickly and accurately assess effectiveness of antibiotics to allow targeted treatment.

This project will establish a rapid testing of antibiotic effectiveness for treating bloodstream infections. Accelerated testing will reduce hospital stay, minimise unnecessary use of antibiotics, and ultimately save lives. While we already have a device that measures the vitality of bacteria based on their bioelectrical activity and dynamics, more advanced computational analysis is needed to untap its potential for evaluating the effectiveness of BSI treatments.

You will analyse time-series data acquired by NHS and academic microbiologists. The project will provide you with an opportunity to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team. Analysis approaches will include ODE modelling, hierarchical, non-hierarchical clustering and deep learning methods for stimulated cell data, development of scoring systems, design of automated reports and a basic GUI for users of data analysis.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Martine Barons (Martine.Barons@warwick.ac.uk).

We will consider applications for employment on a part-time or other flexible working basis, even where a position is advertised as full-time, unless there are operational or other objective reasons why it is not possible to do so.