Research Assistant (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading academic institution based in Cambridge is seeking a motivated Research Assistant for a unique project aiming to enhance mental health data accessibility. The successful candidate will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team and contribute to data integration and analysis, with opportunities for academic development. Salary ranges from £33,002 to £35,608 per annum.

Benefits

Access to training courses

Mentoring opportunities

Qualifications

• Strong organisational and communication skills.
• Experience working with data in either R or Python.
• Experience in functional genomic analyses.
• Experience working with people with lived experience in clinical or research context.

Responsibilities

• Scope and integrate new datasets into a new web interface.
• Contribute to the enhancement of the Open Targets Platform.
• Collaborate with people with lived experience to co-develop the interface.
• Assist in data analysis and exploration of biological associations.
• Contribute to academic outputs including manuscripts and presentations.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Data analysis in R or Python

Experience with functional genomic analyses

Experience with people with lived experience

Education

Medical degree

Job description

18 months Fixed Term to start December 2025, Full Time Monday to Friday

We are seeking a motivated and experienced Research Assistant to join an innovative, co-produced initiative aiming to make mental health omics data more harmonized, accessible, understandable, and useful to researchers, clinicians, industry, and people with lived experience. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary team including data engineers, clinicians, software developers, and lived experience experts to:

• Scope and integrate new datasets into a new web interface, focusing on mental health-relevant omics and real-world data.
• Contribute to the enhancement of the Open Targets Platform to better present psychiatry-relevant omics data and make it more accessible to diverse users.
• Collaborate with people with lived experience (PWLE) to co-develop an accessible 'second skin' for the interface, ensuring usability and inclusivity.
• Assist in data analysis, including harmonisation of large-scale datasets and exploration of biological and environmental associations.
• Contribute to academic outputs, including manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences.

This is a unique opportunity to gain experience in:

• Functional genomics and psychiatric epidemiology
• Clinical informatics and data harmonisation
• Co-production and participatory research methods
• Working within a cutting-edge UK-wide data infrastructure initiative

You will be based in the Department of Psychiatry at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will be part of the dynamic new Cambridge-Oxford BioMind Lab, led by Dr Mary-Ellen Lynall, with access to training courses, seminars, and mentoring opportunities. You will also work closely with Dr Ellen McDonagh's team at Open Targets / European Bioinformatics Institute.

The ideal candidate will have strong organisational and communication skills, experience working with data in either R or Python, a medical degree, experience in functional genomic analyses, and experience working with people with lived experience in a clinical or research context.

We would support the successful candidate in applying for admission to a PhD at the University of Cambridge, should they wish to do so alongside this role.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

Salary and Benefits

£33,002 to £35,608 per annum