Research Assistant in Imaging of Genetic Epilepsies

About us

The applicant will join the Wellcome-funded Imaging Machine learning And Genetics in Neurodevelopment (IMAGINE) lab, in the Research Department of Biomedical Computing. The post will benefit from the extensive and broad expertise in AI and biomedical computing at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences. The work will be done in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team at KCL, UCL and with clinicians at Great Ormond Street Hospital and through our international Multicentre Epilepsy Lesion Detection project.

About the role

A Research Assistant is sought to support a project that aims to create openly available computational tools for automated imaging analysis of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Genetic testing has transformed our understanding of neurodevelopmental epilepsy. Identification of common genetic mutations in specific genes has enabled precision diagnosis and more recently the development of genetic therapies. However, we lack the imaging tools to understand how these mutations disrupt healthy brain development, how brain changes relate to patient symptoms and how to best target treatment. This project seeks develop tools to better understand, diagnose, monitor and target in children with genetic epilepsies in close collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital and other leading epilepsy hospitals, we are collecting unique imaging cohorts of genetic disorders. These will offer an unprecedented opportunity to further our understanding of genetic epilepsies and to create robust, clinical useful imaging tools.

The post would suit a candidate interested in building clinical datasets to tackle translational challenges, while further developing neuroimaging and machine learning skills, and a unique opportunity for the appointee to join a pioneering translational machine learning neuroimaging project with a broader interest linking imaging characteristics to molecular biology & neurodevelopmental symptoms.

The project is a 3 year position supported by the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, and we would support in developing the project into a PhD project.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Undergraduate degree (at least second class honours) in relevant bio/health-related or computer-science subject
2. Previous experience working with neuroimaging data
3. Proven record of ability to conduct high quality research in relevant health related subject
4. Previous coding experience (e.g. python, bash, matlab)
5. Good administrative skills, and the ability to organise & prioritise workload
6. Excellent interpersonal, oral & written communication skills
7. Ability to work independently and as part of a team to agreed deadlines

Desirable criteria

1. Knowledge of neurodevelopmental disorders
2. Experience of scientific writing and dissemination, including experience of scientific presentations
3. Working knowledge of quantitative analysis & statistical methods

Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Interviews are due to be held on 22nd May 2026.