Research Associate in Multimodal Neuroimaging

Research Associate in Multimodal Neuroimaging

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Job Description

Job Title:

Research Associate in Multimodal Neuroimaging Posting

Start Date:

01/10/2026 Job  School/Department:
School of Medicine & Population Health Work Arrangement:
Full Time (On site) Contract Type:
Fixed-term Salary per annum (£): 38,784.00 Closing Date: 28/10/2026

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

This is a 2-year fixed term opportunity for a post-doctoral MRI physicist to work on an ambitious Wellcome Trust funded neuroimaging grant. The project centres on the novel application of hyperpolarised xenon to study gas exchange in the brain. The post doc will be required to acquire pre-clinical data in a multidisciplinary team. Designing MR acquisition protocols and robust data analysis pipelines is essential to this role.

Pulse sequences may be developed with the support of other senior scientists. This project seeks to understand the application of hyperpolarised xenon to detect early signs of brain diseases associated with the cerebral vasculature (specifically cerebral Small Vessel Disease). There is a clear route to human translation as these methods are already used in human research in Sheffield. Rigorous physiological validation of the method is the core aim.

We are embarking on an ambitious project with a small team; the successful candidate will be someone that can communicate and solve problems. The opportunity for bold, discovery science is how to interpret the data in the context of previous research, first principles of MRI physics and experimental physiology. Working closely with the PI Isabel Christie, you will acquire hypothesis-driven data.

Building upon established tracer kinetic models and prior research at Sheffield, you will tailor image processing methods to derive the value of this data to diagnose deficits of gas exchange and blood brain barrier physiology.

• Plan pulse sequences, acquisition parameters and help to acquire preclinical data.
• Communicate engineering requirements to colleagues/companies to generate robust solutions where required (RF coil, ventilator circuits).
• Assess and optimise data quality in real time during acquisition.
• Optimise xenon acquisition to test the hypotheses outlined in the grant drawing on the literature, local expertise and collaborators.
• Optimise ASL acquisition to test the hypotheses outlined in the grant drawing on the literature, local expertise and collaborators.
• Assist the PI to implement a data management plan for MRI Bruker data which adheres to the FAIR principles.
• Present results to members of the research group, to collaborators and to external audiences in national and international conferences.
• Potential to implement additional MRI methods used by other researchers to quantify perfusion or oximetry.
• Continuously monitor and check results, amending project plans as required to accommodate new developments.
• As a member of staff you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.
• Car…