Research Officer - Statistician

Location: Singleton Campus, Swansea

About The Role

This is a Fixed Term role until September 2027 working full-time.

The successful candidate will play a central role in a Diabetes UK funded research programme at Swansea University. The project’s overarching aim is to understand the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and its relationship with longitudinal risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes, using electronic health records in trusted research environments. You will lead statistical modelling of trajectories for HbA1c, systolic blood pressure, BMI, total cholesterol and triglycerides, employing linear-spline mixed-effects models with measurement occasions nested within individuals. Your modelling will accommodate changing scale and variance over time, differing numbers of measurements per individual, and a missing-at-random assumption.

You will then integrate these epidemiological analyses with artificial-intelligence derived retinal image biomarkers and risk-prediction models, to address four key research questions: identifying risk-factor patterns that precede DPN onset; mapping how AI-based retinal risk prediction aligns with longitudinal risk trajectories; exploring how DPN development links with other diabetes complications; and assessing how newer medications (e.g., GLP-1 RA and GLP-1 RA+GIP analogues) may influence DPN risk. You will prepare descriptive analyses, fit multiple cox regression models with confounder adjustment, conduct stratified and subgroup analyses (including by sex, ethnicity, diabetes type and hypoglycaemia history), and produce visual outputs such as heat-maps of retinal features and risk-trajectory associations. You will collaborate with clinical, data-science and informatics colleagues, contribute to manuscripts and reports, and help translate findings into clinical and policy-relevant messages. The post offers the chance to engage with state-of-the-art methodology, advance your publication profile and contribute to real-world impact in diabetes care.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity in all its practices and activities. We aim to establish an inclusive environment and welcome diverse applications from the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

As an inclusive and welcoming workplace, we value people for their skills regardless of their background. Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.

Welsh Language Skills

The Welsh language level required for this role is Level 1 - A little. The role holder will be able to pronounce Welsh words, answer the phone in Welsh (good morning/afternoon) and use very basic everyday words and phrases (thank you, please etc.). Level 1 can be reached by completing a 1 hour course.

The University is a proud bilingual institution, our Welsh Language Strategy outlines our aspiration to promote the language and enable our staff to engage with the language as an additional workplace skill and as a gateway to new cultural and social opportunities. Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English. Welsh speakers have the right to an interview in Welsh. Applicants for a role where Welsh skills are essential are expected to present their application in Welsh and will be interviewed in Welsh, if shortlisted.

Additional Information

Applications for this role will take the format of a CV submission and cover letter.

Closing Date: 4 January 2026

Interview Date: 12 January 2025

Informal Enquiries

• Rebecca Thomas r.l.thomas@swansea.ac.uk
• Ashley Akbari a.akbari@swansea.ac.uk

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