Research Associate

Fixed Term - 24 Months

On the 1 August 2026, The University of Greenwich and the University of Kent will form a pioneering new multi-university group called London and South- East (LASE) University Group. Should you join us, you will be employed by LASE and within this, you will be closely connected to and work across one of our academic divisions (University of Greenwich or University of Kent), contributing to its distinct strengths, community and identity. Combining these strengths, LASE brings scale, resilience and shared ambition to deliver outstanding education, impactful research, and meaningful regional and global impact.

We are seeking a motivated Research Associate to join our exciting EPSRC funded project AIRTIME. The AIRTIME project aims to transform everyday smartphones into low-cost, non-invasive intelligent respiratory screening tools by using built-in sensors (e.g. microphones, accelerometers) combined with lightweight, explainable AI models. This mobile-first approach enables early detection of abnormal breathing patterns in real time, without requiring internet access or clinical equipment.

You will work within our interdisciplinary team of physiologists, medical practitioners, engineers and computer scientists. You will lead our community-based trials that focus on collection and analysis of breathing patterns in healthy and respiratory patients. This will involve using smartphone-based respiratory data acquisition and preprocessing and using the 3D motion caption standard method of measuring breathing patterns (Optoelectronic Plethysmography). Your expertise will ensure data quality, and protocol refinement.

As Research Associate you can expect to be involved in:

• Contributing to the design and execution of the AIRTIME project, ensuring alignment with the grants aims and objectives
• Leading participant recruitment and data capture in the biomechanics laboratory
• Organising and storing data appropriately. Analysing data, writing up results, and reporting regularly to the research group, partners and other stakeholders
• Publishing research findings in high quality peer reviewed journals and support in presenting results at conferences to share insights with the academic community.

What will you bring to the role?

• A relevant postgraduate degree (Master's or PhD) or equivalent in a related field of study (e.g., biomechanics, computing, engineering) 
• Proven experience in conducting research projects, including data collection and analysis  
• Specialist expertise in or theoretical knowledge of 3D motion capture to capture human movement, and/or mobile phone housed sensors (e.g. accelerometers, microphone) 
• Demonstrated ability to write and publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals.

What we can offer in return:

As a member of our team, you can expect a friendly, open and collaborative working environment and support in your development and wellbeing. You'll enjoy a range of great staff benefits including:

•   43 days' leave per year (personal leave, bank holidays and additional days allocated for the Christmas period, pro rata for part-time staff)
•   Excellent pension scheme with generous employer contributions
•   Corporate employee-funded healthcare plan, in partnership with Benenden Health

For more information about what you can look forward to if you join us, visit our dedicated webpage: Working at Kent

We are ambitious for our people, our communities and the region we serve – join us in making the world a better place. Visit our website for more on who we are: http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/

For further information regarding the application process, please contact peopleserviceshr@kent.ac.uk quoting reference number SNS-084-26.

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