University Academic Fellow in Public Health

Location: Leeds - Main Campus

Faculty/Service: Faculty of Engineering

The School of Civil Engineering has a long track record in public health engineering. We have notable strengths in water and sanitation for developing countries with research influencing policy worldwide. We also have strengths in technology for waste and wastewater treatment and have an international reputation for research into airborne infection control. Work in these areas is already collaborative, however much of the focus is on developing and testing engineering interventions, in many cases using computational modelling and experimental approaches on lab or pilot scale or by using environmental samples as a marker in full scale.

Taking public health research to the next level involves full scale evaluation of engineering solutions, particularly measuring and assessing interventions in terms of health outcomes and/or economic impacts. This can be complex, involving careful study design and collection and analysis of data at full scale which is often multifactorial and incomplete.

As a UAF in Public Health Engineering you will bring expertise in measuring health outcomes and/or economic impacts of engineering measures that are designed to improve public health. You will embed this expertise within the School and you will develop collaborations with researchers at Leeds and other institutes to link the technical engineering perspective with other relevant disciplines. You will lead the development of research studies that bring together technical and economic and/or health impact analysis, with a focus on infrastructure-based interventions.

You will have a background in economics or epidemiology, but will have applied their work within a technical/engineering context and have experience relating to one or more areas of existing School research activity such as water supply, sanitation, waste treatment or air quality. We would particularly encourage expertise in developing country research. We would expect you to develop a research capability in measuring the impact of public health engineering interventions, securing funding to in the long term to build expertise in this area to make Leeds a world-leading centre of evidence-based policy making for infrastructure. Of particular significance will be the development of collaborations within the School and across the University, in particular with water@leeds and the Nuffield Institute for International Health. We expect that you will work with these groups focusing on linking the technology and policy aspects of public health engineering which can optimise service delivery and impact and enable a more complete evaluation of the potential efficacy of new approaches. We would also anticipate you bringing skills to advise on the appropriate balance of public health and environmental protection, particularly in developing country contexts to ensure progress on both fronts. You will also support the teaching needs on the MSc programme in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

As part of the application process you will be required to upload the following documents:
1.    A CV;
2.    A list of publications;
3.    A statement detailing your research and academic plan (no more than 2 sides of A4).

For informal enquiries about the role please contact Professor Cath Noakes, Director of Research, School of Civil Engineering, tel: +44 (0)113 343 2306, email: C.J.Noakes@leeds.ac.uk.

For enquiries about the application process please contact the recruitment team, tel: +44 (0)113 343 0518, email: 250GreatMinds@leeds.ac.uk.

To find out more about Academic Fellowships and our 250 Great Minds recruitment campaign please visit: 250greatminds.leeds.ac.uk.