Research Associate/ Fellow (fixed term) (SCI

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Research Associate/ Fellow to join the Cyber-physical Health and Assistive Robotics Technologies in the School of Computer Science to work on a project led by the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham on the LEND (Lived Experience Narratives in Dementia) programme.

About the LEND Project: This project is an NIHR-funded initiative led by the School of Medicine, with a focus on improving the quality of life for people with dementia and their carers through the sharing of lived experience narratives https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR206255

Research shows people with mental health conditions find viewing, reading or listening to peers' personal stories ('narratives') helps their own well-being. The LEND project aims to develop an interactive web app that enables intuitive exploration and criteria-based search of the narratives, curated as multimedia files.

You will be working with the LEND project research team, and in particular with Prof Caleb-Solly (School of Computer Science) and Dr Stefan Rennick-Egglestone (School of Health Sciences) who are leading the work package on the Development of LEND Intervention. 

Responsibilities:

The purpose of this role is to conduct research into, co-design, develop and evaluate with potential end-users, an interactive dementia-appropriate web app that will enable people to easily find narratives that are relevant to them.  To facilitate finding suitable narratives, we aim to design and evaluate a machine learning based artificial intelligence recommender system to filter narratives based on a range of meta-data. The research will include investigating various approaches to developing and optimising the recommender system. The project involves both the design and user testing of this LEND intervention. 

The role provides a unique opportunity to work with experienced researchers, to become actively involved with the CHART Research Group https://www.chartresearch.org/and Institute of Mental Health https://institutemh.org.uk/, University of Nottingham, and to liaise with a wide range of stakeholders taking a leading role in shaping the future of dementia research to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia. The University of Nottingham also offers a wide range of training and opportunities to researchers at all career levels. 

We are looking for a highly motivated research associate/ fellow, with a background in Computer Science or Software Engineering, with Human-Computer Interaction experience. You should have relevant knowledge of working on user-centred design projects, with knowledge and understanding of the latest machine learning methodologies and approaches for the task, interaction and accessibility design principles, and a passion to make a difference for people living with dementia.

Applicants must have good organisational skills and be able to work with all levels of stakeholders. 

The candidate will primarily be based in the School of Computer Science, on our Jubilee Campus in Nottingham, working closely with the project team in the Institute of Mental Health, Jubilee Campus at the University of Nottingham.

Please include a CV as part of your application. 

The post is offered on a full time (36.25 hours per week), fixed term contract from May 2025 until 31 May 2029.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof Praminda Caleb-Solly at praminda.caleb-solly@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted. 

Requests for secondment from internal candidates may be considered on the basis that prior agreement has been sought from both your current line manager and the manager of your substantive post, if you are already undertaking a secondment role.

Closing Date: 07 Apr 2025 Category: Research and Teaching (R&T)