Job title Research Associate Neurotechnology Trials Manager (fixed-term)
Department Computer Science
Salary Starting from £37,099, rising to £44,263
Grade Grade 7
SOC Code - Visa Requirements 2119
Placed on Thursday 16 November 2023
Closing date Thursday 30 November 2023
Interview date To be confirmed
Reference ED11128
Share
About the role:
The neurotechnology research at Bath led by Prof Damien Coyle aims to develop new AI approaches to address challenges associated with translating electrophysiological signals into control signals for brain-computer interface (BCI) based neurotechnology and to trial these developments on a large scale with end-users.
This project offers an exciting opportunity for a researcher with experience in managing trials with human participants.
Working alongside Prof Damien Coyle and the team associated with a Turing AI Fellowship at the Bath Institute for the Augmented Human, the Research Associate will be responsible for planning and running EEG-based brain- computer interface research trials involving human participants to trial new paradigms in the lab with able-bodied participants and with patients who have prolonged disorders of conscious and/or physical impairments resulting from injury or disease.
Experiment and trials will be conducted at the Bath Institute for the Augmented Human and at multiple partner sites across the UK as part of large national clinical trial.
The post will involve extensive travel to partner hospital sites and to patient's home environments to conduct assessment of awareness in disorder of consciousness using our assessment technology.
This research will build evidence for the use of neurotechnology to aid diagnosis and assessment in a clinical setting.
The post-holder will contribute to publishing papers in high impact journals and presenting the research to brain injury units across the UK along with demonstration of the technology for market research and gaging customer sentiment.
The post holder will also be involved in conducting client interviews, travelling to brain injury units/hospital to develop a better understanding of the patient and clinical team needs for various clinical conditions, establishing further partnerships, establishing product requirements, and generally developing a better understanding of the market for AI based neurotechnology.
The post will involve extensive travel, extended stays away from campus, arranging travel and management of travel expenses and will involve access to own transport.
The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human (IAH)
The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human (IAH) is the University's newest institute established in 2023, as a University Research Institute, to be an innovative and agile leader in Human Augmentation R&D in the UK and Internationally.
Our opportunity
Human augmentation – the use of science and technology to enhance physical and cognitive performance – has the potential to transform every aspect of our lives. It can enable humans to transcend our biological limitations, improve our health and wellbeing, and extend our lifespans.
Increasingly, we are using cutting-edge technology to keep us healthy and help us perform better. There are so many areas where intelligent machines can make a difference.
For instance, there are wearable neurotechnology headsets now that measure the brain activity of a person who, due to sickness or injury, can no longer communicate or move, and then translate these signals into responses people can understand.
Strategies are also being developed to link brains directly with exoskeletons – a special kind of suit that can be worn by a person recovering from a stroke or by firefighters or construction workers.
These suits enhance a person's ability to walk, climb and carry heavy loads, and can accelerate recovery from injury or improve workplace safety. We're also working on brain-training neurotechnology that can enhance performance in sport and mental wellbeing, and can be used to treat a range of conditions such as stroke, chronic pain, ADHD, depression and PTSD.
The speed at which advanced innovations in this field are developing is rapid. The opportunities to bring multiple new human-machine interfacing technologies together are immense and it is very important for the UK to lead innovation in human augmentation and capitalise on these opportunities.
There is an opportunity to help humans across the whole spectrum of their lives – not just physically and mentally but supporting the way we live and work on a day-to-day basis, and thus human augmentation is expected to lead to many beneficial social and economic impacts.
Our response
The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human aims to be a leading institute nationally and globally, driving responsible, cutting-edge research and trialling and deploying human augmentation technologies that can impact broadly.
Our vision is a complete multidisciplinary training and innovation ecosystem that revolutionises the way that humans' interface, interact, improve, and evolve with technology.
The Institute will be a unique body of interdisciplinary research focusing on research excellence and addressing the global need for new tools and technologies for augmenting the human and developing researchers that have the skills to develop, trial, regulate and deploy human augmentation technologies.
No other Institute has the capacity to bring together such a breadth of interdisciplinary research involving the body, the mind, the physical environment, the digital environment, and the social and policy contexts, in a way that Bath has demonstrated.
We're setting ourselves an ambitious programme involving 50+ academics from an excellent mix of disciplines, from robotics, engineering and computer science to health, neuroscience and psychology. Together, we're establishing a world- leading research institute.
We will work together – along with industry partners, patient groups and others – to find new and imaginative ways to integrate machines with our bodies and minds.
Our end goal is to push the limits of our natural capabilities – improving quality of life and benefiting humanity.
We'll also be taking a leading role in devising rules that ensure no harm is done by the tech developed in this field.
We want to guarantee Human Augmentation technology is deployed both safely and ethically.
The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human has been founded to accelerate technological developments and help the UK prepare for the growing impact of direct human-to-machine interactions.
Our focus
The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human will establish pathways to impact with minimum barriers, achieving impact across multiple sectors. Responsible research addressing societal, legal, and ethical considerations will be at the core of the institute.
The Institute is founded on the following Mission, Vision, and Values:
Mission – To leverage technology for the advancement of human health, wellbeing, and performance.
Vision – To establish a world-leading multidisciplinary training and innovation ecosystem that revolutionises the way that humans interface, interact, improve and evolve with technology.
Values -
What we can offer you:
We aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on our teams.
We are very proud to be an autism friendly university and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.
Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information.
Further details:Job Description & Person Specification
Terms and Conditions of Employment
We are constantly seeking to reduce the unconscious bias that enters any assessment process, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equal assessment process. To support this, personal details will be removed from application forms at the initial shortlisting stage.