Postdoctoral Research Associate in Mathematical Modelling of Osteoarthritis

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work with Professor Helen Byrne at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford. This is a three-year, fixed-term position, funded by the GSK-Imperial-Oxford Modelling-Informed Medicine Centre (MiMeC). The post is available to start immediately.
The successful candidate will be a member of the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology in the Mathematical Institute. They will have responsibility for carrying out research involving mathematical modelling of osteoarthritis as part of the MiMeC Osteoarthritis research theme. This theme is led by Professors Helen Byrne and Tonia Vincent in Oxford, in close collaboration with Dr Grant Generaux at GSK, and supported by Professor Philip Maini (Oxford), Prabhakar Pandian (GSK) and John Kreeger (GSK).
The role will involve the development of mathematical models to inform pharmaceutical intervention strategies for osteoarthritis. Initially, the postdoctoral researcher will develop a multiscale model describing the response of chondrocytes to mechanical and biochemical stimuli. This model will integrate established subcellular signalling pathways that regulate switching between homeostatic and mechano-activated chondrocyte phenotypes, and will be validated against existing datasets as well as experimental data generated by Professor Vincent's group at the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology. In the longer term, the cellular model will be embedded within a pericellular niche to investigate the co-evolution of chondrocyte phenotype and microenvironment during osteoarthritis progression and in response to treatment.
The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the research and scholarly activities of the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology and write up the results of their work for publication in leading, peer-reviewed journals. There will be opportunities to contribute a small amount of teaching to the department, of at most three hours per week during the academic terms.
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