J-IDEA Research Associate /J-IDEA Research Fellow in Health Analytics and Machine Learning

The Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA) was officially launched in October 2019 to combat global disease threats. J-IDEA is an institute within Imperial's world-class School of Public Health in the College's renowned Faculty of Medicine. Bringing together global health researchers in the School and drawing on Imperial’s expertise in data analytics, epidemiology and economics, J-IDEA will improve our understanding of diseases and health emergencies in the most vulnerable populations across the globe. The Institute will partner with governments, research institutions and communities to develop practical and effective long-term solutions, shape health policy and deliver better quality of life for all. J-IDEA was co-founded by Imperial College London and Community Jameel, a social enterprise organisation that operates a wide range of initiatives which promote and contribute towards positive societal change and economic sustainability. J-IDEA has three key objectives:

1. Responding to health emergencies
2. Strengthening health systems
3. Building partnerships and capacity

Purpose of the Post
The postholder will contribute to advancing J-IDEA’s research agenda in disease analytics which will help health systems prioritise interventions and policies. The postholder will be responsible for contributing to and/or coordinating the work of J-IDEA in the following areas of work:

Detecting patterns and phenotypes of multiple diseases and risk factors
Health and longevity of populations is shaped by combination of multiple fatal and non-fatal conditions with complex interdependencies. The aim of this post to go beyond studying individual diseases and characterise the health of nations in its entirety in a way that can inform risk assessment, priority setting and policy formulation, and to better understand similarities and differences in health among countries. The work will draw from methods in statistical machine learning, bioinformatics, econometrics and applied mathematics.

Potential areas of work include:
• Analysis of trends in multiple medical cause of death and their interdependencies, including infectious diseases
• Detecting periods of acceleration or stagnation in health improvement
• Characterising dominants patterns and clusters of multi-morbidity or multiple health risks
• Health forecasting
• Modelling the impacts of clinical and public health interventions on trends in multiple fatal and non-fatal conditions

The postholder will have an exceptional aptitude for analytical and critical thinking about scientific and policy problems, and about quantitative methods; strong communication capabilities; motivation for problem solving; aptitude for interdisciplinary research and teamwork; and ability to work and learn independently. They will collaborate closely with colleagues across the School of Public Health and other faculties of Imperial College London, and with external partners including Community Jameel, the World Health Organization, and national governments. The postholder will be part of the J-IDEA research team and based in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Prof Majid Ezzati (majid.ezzati@imperiala.ac.uk)
Key Responsibilities

• To conduct research on multiple health outcomes and health risks, globally, nationally and locally
• To understand the structure, contents and relevance of metrics and data used to measure health and health risks at the population level
• To learn, and as relevant advance, the state of the art in statistical machine learning, bioinformatics, econometrics and applied mathematics with special focus on solutions of relevance to population health-
• To apply methods for analysing spatial and social patterns of multiple health conditions and risks, and to detect clusters based on statistical, epidemiological and clinical considerations
• To visualize model results and data to generate insight
• To discuss the inputs, methods, and results with colleagues and collaborators in different disciplines
• To take initiative in the planning of research and to effectively manage research projects
• To write and guide manuscripts through peer-review process
• To write progress and policy reports
• Publish in high quality peer-reviewed journals
• To attend conferences and present results

Other Duties:

• To attend research group meetings, workshops and other relevant meetings
• To attend relevant workshops and conferences
• Travel to research partner countries
• To provide guidance to students and more junior researchers, and to contribute to the Department’s range of teaching activities, including taught courses and supervision of BSc, MSc and PhD students
• To undertake any necessary training and/or development
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by line manager / supervisor