Overview
Clinical Research Fellow – Department of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham. Join the AI and Digital Health Research & Policy Group to develop and translate AI technologies for equitable healthcare, focusing on AI-enabled oculomics and community-based screening using retinal imaging.
Job Details
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Department: Department of Applied Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health
Contract: Full Time, Fixed Term up to January 2027
Salary: £45,943 to £77,196 (full-time) Closing date: 15 October 2025
Role Summary
The Clinical Research Fellow will combine clinical experience with research expertise to advance safe and effective implementation of AI and digital health technologies, with a focus on community-based screening using AI-enabled retinal imaging. The role involves collaboration with healthcare teams, optometrists, clinicians, and patients to ground research in real-world clinical practice and underserved populations. The Fellow will contribute to developing a flexible AI platform tailored to local health priorities and help shape clinical translation of oculomic technologies.
Responsibilities
* Lead and contribute to research on AI-enabled oculomics, including development and evaluation of foundation models for retinal image analysis, with measurable outcomes and growth in national and international reputation.
* Support translation of AI technologies into community settings (e.g., high-street optometry) for early detection of systemic diseases.
* Contribute to Target Model Profiles (TMPs) to align AI models with community health priorities and regulatory standards.
* Contribute to development of research strategies and publish results of own research.
* Supervise PhD students and contribute to departmental leadership.
* Support knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement and public engagement activities at Department/School level or within the University.
* Provide clinical insights to research projects, ensuring relevance to real-world settings.
* Engage with multidisciplinary teams to design and implement clinically meaningful research.
* Support translation of findings into clinical practice through guidelines and decision-support tools.
* Contribute to research administration and management and actively engage in equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
* Recruit, consent and manage patients as appropriate to research, ensuring adherence to ethical standards and GCP.
* Monitor safety and outcomes of AI/digital health interventions under study and liaise with clinical departments to integrate research into practice.
Main Duties
* Plan and carry out research using appropriate methodologies; pursue oculomics-related ideas and collaborate on RETFound development (foundation model for retinal imaging) including vision-language capabilities and synthetic data.
* Evaluate model fairness, robustness, and clinical utility across diverse populations and imaging systems.
* Engage with community stakeholders to co-design research priorities and implementation strategies.
* Plan, publish and execute high-quality research related to the project.
* Project manage research activities and supervise other staff; present findings in publications and conferences.
* Develop novel methodologies suitable for the research.
* Supervise PhD students and provide expert advice within the discipline.
* Contribute to department/school administration and knowledge transfer initiatives.
* Support equality, diversity and inclusion by monitoring and evaluating policies and practices.
* Provide clinical input into study design, protocol development, and risk assessment for AI and digital health technologies.
* Recruit, consent and manage patients for research as appropriate to ethical standards.
* Collaborate with clinical teams to integrate research into practice and provide training on new technologies.
* Monitor clinical safety and outcomes of interventions under study.
Person Specification
* Medical degree (MBBS or equivalent) with current GMC registration or equivalent clinical qualification.
* Experience in ophthalmology.
* Extensive research experience in oculomics and patient-reported outcomes.
* Knowledge of clinical governance, patient safety, and research ethics in healthcare.
* Ability to translate clinical insights into research strategy and policy recommendations.
* Proven track record in planning, undertaking and managing research to deliver high-quality results.
* Experience in applying/developing successful models and methods; knowledge transfer and enterprise activity.
* Experience championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and monitoring related policies.
* Ability to identify issues affecting protected groups and take appropriate action.
Knowledge / Skills / Experience
* Ability to work in both clinical and research environments, bridging patient care and research outputs.
* Understanding of regulatory frameworks for clinical research, medical devices, and AI health technologies.
* Experience with AI applications in medical imaging, particularly ophthalmology or digital diagnostics.
* Understanding of health data equity and deploying AI in underserved communities.
* Familiarity with regulatory frameworks for AI-enabled medical devices and digital health tools.
Communications / Organisational Skills / Responsibilities
* Communicate complex clinical and research information to multidisciplinary teams and patients.
* Manage clinical responsibilities and research projects concurrently.
* Communicate complex AI and imaging concepts to clinical and public audiences.
* Work with multidisciplinary teams including data scientists, engineers and public contributors.
* Manage research activities spanning technical development, clinical evaluation and policy engagement.
OH and DBS
The University is committed to safeguarding and safe recruitment; pre-employment checks including Occupational Health and DBS clearance are required before appointment. Further particulars available here. Informal enquiries to Alastair Denniston at a.denniston@bham.ac.uk.
We value diversity and inclusion and hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. See our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre for more information. We are committed to sustainability as part of our strategy.
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