Research Assistant in AI / IOT to develop Connected Low-cost Diagnostic Devices

The University of Glasgow is seeking a Research Assistant in AI/IOT to develop Connected Low-cost Diagnostic Devices within the James Watt School of Engineering.

The aim of this project is to develop innovations to improve the healthcare pathways of individuals in low-resource under-served rural communities using digital medicine and mobile diagnostics, in Sub-Saharan Africa. The post is part of Digital Innovations and Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases in Africa project (DIDIDA), which brings together 14 partners, both academic and industrial, from eight countries: Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Italy.

The digital diagnostic platform will be portable, reliable and affordable and co-developed with stakeholders. The work at the University of Glasgow will be focused on combining artificial intelligence-based signal quantification and cloud-based data analytics with novel nucleic-acid based tests in a disposable cartridge enabling result read out on a lateral flow strip - for the integration within national surveillance systems. The work has the potential to enable better care for patients by providing a simple, cost-effective mobile autonomous diagnostic solution capable of diagnosing multiple diseases, including malaria, in a single session. It will also link these conditions to non-communicable diseases including hypertension or diabetes, drawing upon expertise in the use of digital wearables for monitoring co-morbidities.

The successful candidate will work with Professor Jon Cooper and Professor Julien Reboud at Glasgow. The group has developed new device designs to integrate all the steps required for carrying out a DNA assay onto a single, simple-to-use microfluidic platform that you will adapt to integrate into a mobile (eHealth) platform. You will join a vibrant, large multidisciplinary team of more than 50 researchers in the well-equipped Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre and work collaboratively with our academic and industry partners, including with 16 PhD students as part of DIDIDA across Africa.

This post is full time (35 hrs per week) with funding until 30th April 2026.

For informal enquiries or further information about the project, please contact Professor Jonathan Cooper: Jon.Cooper@glasgow.ac.uk

For more information on the University of Glasgow’s, James Watt School of Engineering, please visit:  https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/

For more information and to apply online, by clicking the 'Apply' button, above.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

 The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401.

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