The partnership brings together six universities across three regional hubs – South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the East of England – to undertake research that will contribute to the development of a sustainable and effective Allied Health Professions (AHP) workforce, with a particular focus on rural and coastal communities and deprived urban areas.

The post will support the delivery of the second phase of the research programme, working collaboratively with researchers, NHS partners and universities across the partnership. The successful applicant will join the University of Lincoln team within the School of Health and Care Sciences and the Lincoln Institute for Rural and Coastal Health (LIRCH). LIRCH is the UK's first integrated multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to rural and coastal health and is undergoing significant expansion following a £10.9 million award from Research England's Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund.

We are seeking a researcher with experience of undertaking research within a UK health and care context, together with a good understanding of the UK Allied Health Professions and the workforce challenges affecting these professions. The successful applicant will have experience of contributing to complex research projects and skills in areas including literature searching and qualitative research methods. Experience of collaborative working with academic, NHS and/or other health and care partners would be particularly valuable.

The role offers hybrid working, but flexibility and the ability to travel across the region to work with NHS, university and other collaborative partners are essential.

About the University of Lincoln

The University of Lincoln is committed to transforming lives and communities through high-quality teaching, research and knowledge exchange. Research growth is a key strategic priority, and the University continues to invest in its research environment, expertise and partnerships. In REF 2021, 79% of Lincoln's research was rated internationally excellent or world-leading. The University also holds an overall Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023 and was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2023.

This role provides an opportunity to join a growing interdisciplinary research environment and contribute to a major national research partnership addressing important challenges for the future AHP workforce.

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Associate Professor Dr Sophie Willis (swillis@lincoln.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 04 Oct 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £38,784 per annum
Please note, this post is fixed-term and full time until the 28th February 2030

We are seeking an ambitious and collaborative Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a new EPSRC Health Technologies Connectivity Award led by Dr Wenting Duan at the University of Lincoln. The project focuses on developing clinically grounded AI for brain metastasis imaging in close collaboration with Professor Dorothee Auer and Dr Stefanie Thust, alongside clinical and imaging researchers at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

This is an exciting opportunity for a talented early-career researcher to help shape a focused and growing research programme at the interface of artificial intelligence, medical image analysis, and clinical neuro-oncology. The project is motivated by real clinical challenges in brain metastasis imaging, including small and difficult-to-detect lesions, variation in MRI protocols across hospitals, lesion heterogeneity, and the need for robust and clinically meaningful methods that can translate beyond narrow benchmark settings.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Project Lead and partner clinical collaborators to develop and evaluate AI methods for brain metastasis detection and analysis using public and partner imaging datasets. Depending on expertise and project needs, this may include work on lesion detection and segmentation, multimodal analysis, model robustness and generalisation, morphology-aware analysis, and clinically informed evaluation. The role will also involve dissemination through high-quality publications and conferences, engagement with external stakeholders, and contribution to the development of future translational funding opportunities.

A distinctive feature of this post is the opportunity to work within a strongly interdisciplinary setting. The project is designed not only around technical AI development, but also around engagement with clinical workflow, imaging practice, and real translational constraints. The postholder will benefit from research visits to collaborators, access to computing support and research equipment, conference participation, and immersion in a collaborative clinical research environment.

Applicants should have, or defended the viva of, a PhD in computer science, artificial intelligence, medical image analysis, biomedical engineering, or a closely related discipline. We are particularly interested in candidates with a strong technical background in medical image computing, machine learning, computer vision, or multimodal AI, together with excellent programming and communication skills. Experience in areas such as lesion detection or segmentation, domain generalisation, robust evaluation, clinically motivated AI, or imaging biomarker analysis would be especially valuable. Evidence of research potential through publications, software, or other high-quality outputs is essential.

We particularly welcome applicants who are excited by interdisciplinary research, motivated by clinically relevant problems, and keen to work in close partnership with imaging and clinical collaborators. The role would suit a candidate who wants to combine methodological strength with real-world research impact and who is ready to contribute actively to a developing research direction with significant future potential.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years.

Start date: 01/03/2027

Please include the contact details of one academic referee on the online application form and upload:

For more information about the position, please contact Dr Wenting Duan (wduan@lincoln.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 27 Sep 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £38,784 per annum