Job Description

Job number

MED05270

Faculties

Faculty of Medicine

Departments

School of Public Health

Salary or Salary range

54,063 - 63,797 per annum

Location/campus

White City Campus - Hybrid

Contract type work pattern

Full time - Fixed term

Posting End Date

9 Jul 2025

About the role

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The NIHR-funded Biomedical Research Centre at Imperial College London has commissioned the School of Public Health to evaluate possible policy options for the management of obesity in the UK.



Obesity is a significant and growing public health issue in the UK. As of recent estimates, around 26% of adults in England are classified as obese, with a further 38% overweight. Among children, nearly 10% of four- to five-year-olds and over 20% of 10- to 11-year-olds are obese, highlighting the scale of the problem across age groups. If current trends continue, projections suggest that by 2040, 7 in 10 adults in the UK could be living with excess weight, with obesity alone affecting over 35% of the population.



To manage this challenge, policy options must evolve. Expanding access to GLP-1 receptor agonists--such as semaglutide--could provide an effective pharmacological tool, especially for those unable to lose weight through lifestyle changes alone. Other strategies could include weight management services including bariatric surgery. A multi-faceted approach will be crucial to curbing the obesity epidemic and protecting public health resources.



Epidemiological and healthcare system simulation modelling will be useful for evaluating these options. To that end, this team will develop a novel analytical simulation framework and use it to address these pressing questions, in close collaboration with clinicians, epidemiologists, NHS managers and policy makers.



The post is created specifically for this new project. The post-holder will have responsibility for the conceptualisation and execution of the project, with the support of the supervisors and the wider team.

What you would be doing

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The post-holder will be responsible for the background research necessary to construct a model that represents the onset and progression of obesity and the onset, progression and consequences of the key conditions that are related to it, as well as the defined set of policy options to be evaluated. The post-holder will also be responsible for implementing the model as a computer simulation and analysing it within a health-economics framework using standard computational techniques. The post-holder will also be responsible for writing up the findings and presenting these in scientific, medical and lay formats.



The post-holder will be a part of a large group of epidemiologists and healthcare system specialists that use computational modelling to investigate a wide range of questions in the UK and overseas. The group is situated within the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and the School of Public Health, which is one of the largest groups specialising in disease modelling in the world.



The post-holder is responsible for maintaining their own continuing professional development and carrying out any other duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post

What we are looking for

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PhD in one of the following areas: Mathematical Modelling, Statistics, Infectious Disease Epidemiology or related subject or a similar quantitative discipline. Programming skills in Python; or experience in at least one of the following: C, C++, Java, R, Matlab, and willingness to learn Python. Experience in working with epidemiological or healthcare (or similar) data, including data cleaning, validation, summary description, and appropriate analysis using standard techniques (e.g. general linear modelling, imputation, estimation, etc.) Experience with reviewing, analysing and synthesising scientific papers and reports.

What we can offer you

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The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity. Grow your career: gain access to Imperial's sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression. Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes). Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Further information

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This role is for a full-time and fixed-term contract until 31 May 2027.



If you require any further details about the role, please contact: Professor Timothy Hallett at timothy.hallett@imperial.ac.uk and/or Dr Shevanthi Nayagam at s.nayagam01@imperial.ac.uk.

Available documents

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Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

We reserve the right to close the advert prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications. It is therefore advisable that you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.



If you encounter any technical issues while applying online, please don't hesitate to email us at support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk. We're here to help.


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About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.



Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world's toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.



As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you'll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.



This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you'll join us at Imperial College London.


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Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.



Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.