Research Associate - Mathematics
| Posting date: | 23 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £38,784 to £46,049 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 14 October 2025 |
| Location: | Birmingham, West Midlands |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Aston University |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 0834-25 |
Summary
We are seeking a highly motivated and mathematically skilled Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to join Aston University’s interdisciplinary team in a project aimed at understanding the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on the culture structure, namely, its connectivity, types of neurons it comprises and its effective synaptic weights.
The revolutionary project will use recordings of neuronal firing activity in cultures generated by neuroscientists working on diseased neuronal clusters (created from skin cells in a process called human induced pluripotent stem cells). Firing activity will be captured by microchip arrays to allow for the inference of culture structure and identify the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on it. This Research Associate position will support the project by inferring the processes that take place in the culture, enhancing our understanding of the disease’s microscopic manifestation through the development of analytical and modelling tools.
As the successful candidate you will focus on developing theoretical models and inference tools to understand dynamic processes within diseased neuronal cultures. This involves integrating techniques from statistical physics, Bayesian inference, and complex systems theory.
You will contribute to method development, simulation and validation in close collaboration with experimental partners.
Key Responsibilities:
Carry out research work, analytically and numerically, jointly with the project research team in the area of inference.
Apply established techniques and develop new methods inspired by Bayesian methods and statistical physics modelling for understanding the structure and behaviour of diseased cortical tissues and their dynamics.
Validate the developed methods in simulations and in real neuronal devices to evaluate their efficacy and suitability.
Disseminate research through journals, conferences, and workshops.
For informal enquiries about this position, you can contact Prof David Saad (d.saad@aston.ac.uk)
This role may meet the requirements for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship.
If you require sponsorship, Aston University will assess eligibility if you are shortlisted for the role.
Please note we are unable to confirm individual eligibility before shortlisting.
See here for more information on Skilled Worker visa eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
The revolutionary project will use recordings of neuronal firing activity in cultures generated by neuroscientists working on diseased neuronal clusters (created from skin cells in a process called human induced pluripotent stem cells). Firing activity will be captured by microchip arrays to allow for the inference of culture structure and identify the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on it. This Research Associate position will support the project by inferring the processes that take place in the culture, enhancing our understanding of the disease’s microscopic manifestation through the development of analytical and modelling tools.
As the successful candidate you will focus on developing theoretical models and inference tools to understand dynamic processes within diseased neuronal cultures. This involves integrating techniques from statistical physics, Bayesian inference, and complex systems theory.
You will contribute to method development, simulation and validation in close collaboration with experimental partners.
Key Responsibilities:
Carry out research work, analytically and numerically, jointly with the project research team in the area of inference.
Apply established techniques and develop new methods inspired by Bayesian methods and statistical physics modelling for understanding the structure and behaviour of diseased cortical tissues and their dynamics.
Validate the developed methods in simulations and in real neuronal devices to evaluate their efficacy and suitability.
Disseminate research through journals, conferences, and workshops.
For informal enquiries about this position, you can contact Prof David Saad (d.saad@aston.ac.uk)
This role may meet the requirements for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship.
If you require sponsorship, Aston University will assess eligibility if you are shortlisted for the role.
Please note we are unable to confirm individual eligibility before shortlisting.
See here for more information on Skilled Worker visa eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
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