King's College London

About Us

King’s College London is a world leading research-intensive university with a strong international profile and a long-standing commitment to addressing major societal and global challenges. This role is based within the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, in the Department of Infectious Diseases, which brings together expertise across microbiology, immunology, clinical sciences, data science and artificial intelligence. The Department offers a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment, with strong links to clinical partners and access to outstanding research infrastructure and cross faculty initiatives.

About the role

This is an exciting MRC-JPIAMR (EU) funded project, titled FightAMR: Novel global One Health surveillance approach to fight AMR using Artificial Intelligence and big data mining. The Research Associate will take a leading role in an EU-Africa research project, collaborating with Research Organisations, Academia, and Industry in South Africa, Switzerland, France, Italy and the UK. The aim of this research is to understand the emergence, spread and transmission of drug-resistant pathogens under the One Health concept, and to use this knowledge to develop an innovative AI-powered surveillance solution. Covering all the interconnected systems humans, animals, environment and food across EU and Africa. To this aim, we will use artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, next generation sequencing and microbiology. The successful candidate will work closely with an interdisciplinary team of academics at University of Nottingham. The role will include big data mining via AI, machine learning, and deep learning. This is a fixed-term position, with the potential for extension.

This is a full-time post 35 hours per week, and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st May 2027 with a possibility of an extension.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the  Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the  Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified in computer science, mathematics, physics or similar disciplines *
2. Demonstrated expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and data mining methods and algorithms
3. Proven experience applying AI, machine learning and deep learning to heterogeneous, large scale and complex datasets, including sequencing, sensor, biological and clinical data
4. Strong expertise in Linux based high performance computing environments, and the use of cloud-based platforms
5. Expertise in the design, development, and application of Digital Twins, including data driven and hybrid modelling approaches for complex biological, clinical, or environmental systems
6. Programming skills in Python, Matlab, R or other equivalent

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

Desirable criteria

1. Knowledge of the mechanisms underlying antimicrobial resistance
2. Understanding of infections dynamics in particular for bacterial infections
3. Bioinformatics expertise in the analysis of genomic data (MGS and WGS)

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.