Postdoctoral Research Associate

Grade UE07: £41,885 to £49,798 per annum
School of Population Health Sciences / Usher Institute / Centre for Medical Informatics
Full time (35 hours per week)
Fixed Term, available from January 2027 to September 30, 2028

The Opportunity:

Where passion meets purpose. Be part of something bigger.

Join one of the world’s leading universities and be part of a multidisciplinary research programme focused on improving care for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through better use of linked health and social care data.

The University of Edinburgh offers a vibrant, collaborative research environment with opportunities to develop your career while contributing to work that has real-world impact. From local roots to global influence, we combine excellence in teaching and research with a commitment to improving lives in Scotland and beyond.
Academic

The University of Edinburgh is a world-class organisation. We look for the best in the field across all disciplines and provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their subject area.

We are seeking an enthusiastic, experienced Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to a large-scale NIHR-funded project with an emphasis on implementation, evaluation, and systems engineering, which would involve Theory of Change, co-design, testing and PPIE within the CarePath Programme. The postholder will work with dashboards designed to display large-scale linked datasets across health, social care, and third sector domains. The postholder will collaborate with a diverse group of clinical, academic, and data infrastructure partners. This is an excellent opportunity to conduct original research with the potential to inform future care pathways.
People have always been at the heart of our work. As part of the University, you are a part of our community. We are looking for people with drive, determination, and a passion for what they do. We are a place where everyone is welcome and offer a range of policies and benefits designed to support you in building the right flexibility for your career and life.

A career with us offers a range of benefits:
• Opportunities for publication and professional development
• Working within one of the world’s leading universities
• Interesting, interdisciplinary work with real-world impact
• A strong culture of wellbeing, support, and inclusion

This post is full time (35 hours per week). We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.

View the full job description (opens in a new browser tab).

How to apply
Please include the following documents in your application:
CV
Cover letter

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page(opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and particularly encourage applications from underrepresented groups, including women, ethnic minority candidates, disabled individuals, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, in line with our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages(opens new browser tab).

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 25 November 2026.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

About Company

The Usher Institute sits within the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at The University of Edinburgh. We are also the Health and Social Care Data-Driven Innovation Hub, part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

The Usher Institute is a key applied and translational arm of the Edinburgh Medical School, within the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh; offering significant expertise in health services research, health informatics, data science and social science.

We strive for and work towards the data-enabled transformation of health.

For more information, visit the Usher Institute website (https://usher.ed.ac.uk/ ) (opens in a new browser tab)

School of Population Health Sciences
Transforming health in society by working with people, populations and data.

The School of Population Health Sciences sits within the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at The University of Edinburgh.

The School of Population Health Sciences is a key applied and translational arm of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh; offering significant expertise in health services research, health informatics, data science and social science. We are also the Health and Social Care Data-Driven Innovation Hub, part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

We strive for and work towards the data-enabled transformation of health.

About the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM) is home to six Schools which in turn host five world-leading research institutes; the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, the Usher Institute, the Institute for Regeneration and Repair, the Roslin Institute and the new Institute for Neurological and Cardiovascular Sciences. The teams in the six CMVM Schools work together to build outstanding discovery and translational research programmes designed to answer the major challenges facing humanity, animal and planetary health, now and in the future. Our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching is delivered through Edinburgh Medical School and the Royal (Dick) School of Medical Studies with contributions from all six schools.

Company

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.