Developing mobile technology for home monitoring of diabetes in pregnancy

The SPaRK PhD candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of researchers who are in the process of developing a healthcare mobile phone technology called “GEMS miCARE”. GEMS miCARE will empower pregnant women with diabetes to manage their condition better with home monitoring and remote support, reducing the number of clinical visits to the times when they are required on a personalised and flexible basis. As part of this mobile technology, we are also developing novel point-of-care devices based on kidney function, glucose control and cardiovascular biomarkers suitable for home monitoring. Therefore this interdisciplinary project will lead to the development of skills in software and hardware development, data analytics and processing, and predictive algorithm improvement for risk stratification. We anticipate that by January 2019, our product will enter a clinical trial and the student will be part of the team involved in clinical data management. Our non-academic partners,

Northern Ireland Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC) and CIGA Healthcare, will support the candidate in developing their technical and commercial expertise which can be applied to the mobile health technology and interface with novel point-of care device based biomarkers. The candidate will gain knowledge in product development from research through to market by engaging with CHIC and CIGA Healthcare. Furthermore, we have international collaboration with the Republic of Ireland, Dr John O’Donoghue, a lecturer with a background in computer science and eHealth, whose role will be as a third and external supervisor. Dr McClements, Dr Watson and Dr O’Donoghue are currently in the process of setting up a spin-out company from Queen’s University Belfast, which will enable commercialisation of the GEMS miCARE mobile technology. The candidate will have an opportunity to gain experience on commercialisation of the products developed through academic research.

ELIGIBILITY

The following criteria must be met, in order for applications to be shortlisted for evaluation. The criteria are set by The Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions in Horizon 2020, Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND).

EARLY STAGE RESEARCHER: ESR’s must be, at the time of recruitment (understood as the call deadline: 11th April 2018), in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers and must not have been awarded a doctoral degree. This is measured from the date when the researcher obtained the degree entitling him or her to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited, even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged.

MOBILITY RULE: Researchers shall not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the call deadline (11th April 2018). Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Candidates should have or expect to obtain a 2:1 or higher Honours degree or equivalent in a relevant field, such as the life sciences or Biomedical.

English Language

Candidates applying from countries where the first language is not English should produce evidence of their competence through a qualification such as IELTS or TOEFL score.

The minimum recommended score for the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Science is:
• IELTS score of 6.0 with not less than 5.5 in each of the four component elements of listening, reading, speaking and writing taken within the last 2 years;
• TOEFL score of 80+ (internet basted test), taken within the last 2 years, with minimum component scores of; Listening 17, Reading 18, Speaking 20, Writing 17);
• A valid Certificate of Proficiency in English grade A or B;
• A valid Certificate of Advanced English grade A; or
• A first or upper second class honours degree from a university based in the UK, Republic of Ireland or other suitably quality assured location in a country deemed by the UK Border Agency to be majority English speaking.

For a list of English Language qualifications also accepted by the School and University please see the following link:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/International/International-students/Applying/English-language-requirements/#English

The English Language Unit (ELU) offers both pre-sessional and in-sessional courses in English for academic purposes and study skills. Courses vary in length and full information can be obtained from the ELU http://www.qub.ac.uk/tefl/