Postdoctoral Research Associate:Data Analyst

We wish to recruit a full-time postdoctoral research associate for 3 years. You will join Lancaster Medical School (LMS) to work with Dr Jemma Kerns and collaborators to develop spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) as a healthcare tool for use in the community for bone health.  

We are seeking a data analyst with a PhD in data science and expertise in chemometrics, machine learning and software engineering skills to develop the data analysis protocols for collection of data and quality assurance; the processing and analysis of the data (e.g., multivariate analysis and/or classification algorithms including machine learning); and the output data and interpretability. 

The project “SORS in the community” is funded by the EPSRC (https://www.ukri.org/news/new-tools-aim-to-improve-early-diagnosis-and-ease-nhs-pressure/)

We aim to develop SORS as a community-based healthcare tool for the enhanced diagnosis and screening of musculoskeletal health. The post-holder will liaise with colleagues within the Faculty of Health and Medicine (FHM) at Lancaster University: Dr Olaug Grude, Dr Leonie Unterholzner, Dr Amy Saunders and Dr Claire Mann and external partners: Prof Helen Birch (UCL), Prof Pavel Matousek (STFC), Prof Tony Parker (STFC), Dr Nai-Hao Yin (UCL and Lancaster) and Dr Marwan Bukhari (Consultant Rheumatologist, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust) to deliver the project. 

This project aims to establish the safety limits for in vivo use, develop the optimal operational conditions for the proposed device and create software for device operation, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Throughout the study we will engage with people with lived experience of musculoskeletal conditions, carers and healthcare professionals to ensure that the design and delivery of technology is feasible and acceptable for community healthcare settings.

You will be expected to be based at Lancaster University, however, there is some opportunity for remote working and travel between collaborator sites. 

You will join a top 10-UK university in the Complete University Guide 2026 with excellent laboratory facilities and situated in a vibrant research environment. LMS, within FHM at Lancaster University, provides a friendly research environment that strongly supports the individual needs of each employee and which actively promotes a healthy work-life balance. FHM is committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies and has held a Silver Athena SWAN award since 2014 in recognition of its good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education and research.

For more information please contact Dr Jemma Kerns, j.kerns@lancaster.ac.uk

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fhm/about-us/people/jemma-kerns

The post is available from 1st January 2026. 

We are happy to consider flexible working requests.