Research Assistant/Associate

Salary: 

Research Assistant: £33,951 - £35,608 per annum

Research Associate: £36,636 - £41,064 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 9 July 2026

The Role

We are excited to launch this new opportunity for a Research Assistant/Associate position within the Digital Health Innovation in Ageing and Neurodegeneration (DIAN) research group (https://dian-ncl.co.uk/), as part of Newcastle’s NIHR Digital Health Theme. You will join an interdisciplinary group of researchers based in Newcastle in the Health Innovation Neighbourhood. You will be working with Dr Ríona McArdle and her team (https://dian-ncl.co.uk/oriel) to better understand and support mobility impairments in people living with dementia.

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant/Associate with a strong background in quantitative methods and an interest in digital health and dementia. This position will be a full-time 18 months fixed term post and provide an excellent opportunity for an early career researcher interested in complex data analysis of digital mobility outcomes in dementia and neurodegenerative disorders.

Your role will be working on National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) projects focused on characterising and understanding mobility, including gait and ambulatory activity, in people living with different types of dementia. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skillset in digital health and dementia and you will be supported to produce peer-reviewed publications throughout this post.  The main project involves a longitudinal research cohort using wearable technology to measure real-world digital mobility outcomes in people living with dementia over three years. We are interested understanding how mobility changes over time in dementia and what socio-ecological and disease-related factors influence that change.

We follow the Researcher Development Concordat. We enable all colleagues to fulfil their research potential regardless of career stage. This commitment secures our thriving research culture and vibrant research environment. Our offer to each individual and their researcher development includes mentoring, annual research planning discussions, pooled research funding to support career development and research activities, peer review support for the development of research and innovation funding applications.

We want you to feel confident when applying for a position with Newcastle University. If you’d like an informal discussion to clarify any points, please contact Dr Ríona McArdle: riona.mcardle@ncl.ac.uk. We are committed to making the process accessible to everyone and can provide additional support to adjustments to meet your needs.

Please provide your CV and a cover letter with examples of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. In particular, please provide details of your knowledge and application of statistical techniques, particularly multi-level or repeated measures, and any experience working with wearable sensor data, such as movement analysis and signal processing.

Your role will include:

• Processing existing wearable sensor data to derive gait and activity outcomes by applying existing algorithms
• Developing and managing a complex dataset, bringing together longitudinal clinical and cognitive data from multiple sites together with the processed wearable sensor data
• Conduct longitudinal statistical analysis to answer key research questions
• Prepare reports and write publications for peer-reviewed journals

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/

We aim to hold interviews in late August. 

Key Accountabilities

Research Assistant

• Collect, analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes
• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, use problem solving to affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project(s)
• Present information on research progress and outcomes to a Principal Investigator or groups overseeing the research project
• Write up results from own research activity and provide input into the research project’s dissemination, in whatever form (report, papers, chapters, books)
• Use research resources (including, where required, laboratories, workshops and specialist equipment) as appropriate

Research Associate

• Contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of the project
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of the research and its dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and develop own research objectives and proposals for funding

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Research Assistant

• Very good knowledge of and experience using Matlab or equivalent programming languages (e.g. Octave, Python, R, Stata, etc.)
• Dataset and project management skills
• Evidence of good knowledge of statistical techniques, particularly for multi-level or repeated measures
• Attention to detail and ability to work at high levels of accuracy
• Ability to present complex information effectively to a range of audiences
• Proven ability to analyse data and write-up results
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues
• Excellent IT skills in all major office applications
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems

In addition for Research Associate

• Awareness of the research environment
• High level of analytical and problem solving capacity
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity
• Experience of presentations at conferences and/or in high quality publications

Desirable

• Experience working with older adults and/or patient groups
• Understanding of neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia
• Publication record in peer‑reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career
• Evidence of applications of longitudinal statistical analysis
• Experience working with wearable sensor data and analysis, such as movement analysis and signal processing

 Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to working positively as a member of a multi-skilled research team
• Ability to negotiate and prioritise multiple, competing responsibilities and to work to deadlines
• Commitment to continued professional development
• Understanding of good practice in equality, inclusion and diversity

Qualifications

Research Assistant

• Honours degree in in Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, Movement Science, Data Science, Statistics or related field

In addition for Research Associate

• PhD in Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, Movement Science, Data Science, Statistics or related field

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29461