"Research Assistant (Fixed Term)"

Research Assistant (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge - Department of Medicine

A Research Assistant position is available from 1 March 2026 for 6 months at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, Department of Medicine. The successful applicant will join the interdisciplinary group of Dr Yuan Huang and Prof James Rudd to work on the foundation models for coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA). The position is funded by the Accelerate Science and C2D3 joint call for AI for Research and Innovation (https://science.ai.cam.ac.uk/news/2025-11-26-ai-for-tomorrows-breakthroughs-15-new-projects-funded-to-transform-research).

CCTA is a first-line imaging modality for suspected coronary artery disease. Identifying high-risk plaque and patients using CCTA requires specialist expertise, is usually labour intensive and is vulnerable to inter-observer variability. With access to a few major UK CCTA trials (totalling ~50,000 coronary arteries), we are building the first CCTA foundation model tailored to coronary arteries. The model will enable various downstream tasks, deliver automated assessments of plaque morphology and high-risk features, predict progression and events, and integrate into the workflow to triage cases and support clinical decision making.

Key duties of this post include data pre-processing and self-supervised pretraining of CCTA. You will also be able to participate the downstream foundation model fine tuning, analysis of tabular clinical data, model evaluation and manuscript preparation. You will be regularly supervised in-person by a multi-disciplinary team; additional support may also be provided by the Cambridge Image Analysis group.

The successful candidate will hold an MSc/MPhil degree or equivalent in a relevant field (e.g. computer science, mathematics and biomedical engineering). The candidate is expected to have prior research experience in AI in medical imaging and to be familiar with the preprocessing of DICOM images. Strong Python programming skills and experience with modern deep learning frameworks are essential. A track record of publication in journals/conferences such as MICCAI will be highly desirable.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Dr Yuan Huang by email - yh288@cam.ac.uk.

Fixed Term: The funds for this position are available for 6 months, in the first instance.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click 'Apply' above.

Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV in the Upload section of the online application. The covering letter should outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application.

Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager.

Closing date: 8th January 2026

Interview date: To be confirmed

Please quote reference RC48237 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

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