Research Associate (full time, fixed term) (JB7889)

The School of Management seeks to recruit a Research Associate for two collaborative projects co-led with NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG) and in part funded by a Health Data Research UK grant. The overall aim of both research projects is to develop dynamic simulation models and accompanying prototype software tool in R for studying patient populations as well as patient flow through the health and care system.

The models will take the form of a stochastic simulations, with a number of random variables governing the progression of patients through the stages of disease or through different activities in the care system. 

The dynamic population model will provide insight into the shape of the population in years to come which will enable services to be tailored around specific cohorts. Through linking attributes to activity and spend, it will allow the effect of drift between population segments to be effectively modelled and understood. It would also facilitate identification of new segments over time in response to the evolving shape of the population. The tool will be able to produce results for different trajectories of disease prevalence and lifestyle factors derived empirically or from the recent literature and as defined by the user. 

The patient flow model will allow experimentation with a number of different care system configurations, as well as capturing the likely impact of system-level interventions aimed at improving the flow of patients between the acute and downstream community and social care services. This is particularly timely, given national interest in bridging the health and care ‘divide’, and has strong potential for developing real-life practical advancements as well as novel research outputs.

You will join a small but effective research team, led by Prof Christos Vasilakis and Dr Richard Wood. The team will include academics and researchers from the University of Exeter, University of Bristol and the NHS. You will develop and code impactful simulation models and interfaces in R, continuing a line of research that has already been recognised by multiple external grants, completed open source software tools, national and international attention as well as peer reviewed publications. There will be ample opportunities for both practical and academic work and contribution through presentations to conferences and peer reviewed publication in top technical and healthcare journals. Being part of a larger research team will increase your chances of achieving a number of academic publications during the two year period of the project and beyond, both as lead author and as co-author.

This position is on a full time, 36.5 hours per week, fixed term basis of up to 24 months. For further information and an informal discussion about the role please contact Prof Christos Vasilakis (c.vasilakis@bath.ac.uk) or Dr Richard Wood (richard.wood16@nhs.net or rw926@bath.ac.uk).  

The division of Information, Decisions and Operations (IDO) is a globally influential group of researchers and teachers. Research areas include supply chain management, manufacturing and service operations management, operational research, forecasting and mathematical modelling, human aspects of cybersecurity and information systems, and computational social science/data analytics, with a core focus on applying inter-disciplinary insights to tackle significant, real-world, business and social challenges. We are also home to research centres focused on Supply Chain Management (HPC Supply Chain Innovation Lab), Healthcare Innovation (CHI2) and EPSRC and ESRC funded projects ranging from human aspects of cybersecurity to complex project management.

The Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Improvement (CHI2), established by Professor Vasilakis 2014 has a network of over 200 members from 40 organisations across the West of England. CHI2 multidisciplinary team of researchers specialise in the use of operational research (OR) and management science (MS) as part of a range of systems modelling, simulation and analytics methods, as well as quantitative and qualitative research methods, as a means to analyse complex problems, to improve decision-making and to bring about service and quality improvements. 

The University of Bath and the School of Management currently holds an Athena Swan Bronze award and the School actively participates in equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives. The School of Management are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community – a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed to our fullest potential. We offer a full range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, campus facilities and services to support staff from all genders and different backgrounds. We even offer flexible working practices across the university. This is a full-time post with a start date by agreement.

Our campus is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and the City of Bath with its historic charm and social activity only a short distance away creates an excellent environment in which to work. We encourage all staff to learn, develop new skills and progress their careers throughout their employment with us and believe our staff are vital in creating the University’s inclusive and innovative community. We are committed to providing a family friendly workplace and our staff have access to a number of services that promote wellbeing and improve work-life balance. 

We recognise the commitment, achievements and talents of our workforce through our offering of initiatives and benefits, including (but not limited to): 

Generous employer pension contributions39 days holiday (annual leave, discretionary days and bank holidays)A flexible working environmentA commitment to personal and professional developmentOfsted outstanding rated onsite nurserySalary exchange scheme (cycle to work)Onsite private and NHS dentist, onsite medical centreEmployee discount scheme

We value, promote and celebrate inclusion, challenging discrimination and putting equality, diversity and belonging at the heart of everything we do. We aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, creating a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances health and wellbeing across our community. We are very proud to have recently received Ambassadors for Autism certification and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader (level 3); committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

Closing Date: 22 Nov 2020
Type: Education & Research