Research Associate on Young Adult Health

About the role

We are looking to appoint a Research Associate to conduct analysis of longitudinal cohort data to explore the development of diet, mental health and cardiometabolic health through early adulthood, and the influence of changing social and physical environments on these outcomes. This will include analysis of changes in diet across life transitions including transitions into employment, and their contribution of these transitions to the development of inequalities in cardiometabolic health between different population groups.

What you would be doing

• Analyse longitudinal data from national and international cohort studies (e.g. the Raine Study, Western Australia) to assess trajectories of dietary intake over time, and the contribution of changing exposures across early adulthood to the development of inequalities in diet and cardiometabolic health
• Lead analysis of longitudinal data from the DEBEAT study to understand the determinants of changes in diet and wider health behaviours across the transition from school to employment or higher/further education
• Support data collection and lead data analysis of the Individual Placement and Support intervention, working with 3 local organisations who are delivering the intervention and collecting data
• Develop new research ideas, to conduct further longitudinal research in late adolescence/early adulthood

What we are looking for

• A PhD degree in public health, epidemiology, or a closely related quantitative discipline
• Strong interest in understanding the drivers of mental health and cardiometabolic inequalities across early adulthood
• Experience of advanced statistical methods for longitudinal analysis