The EPSRC have awarded a prestigious Fellowship Award to Imperial to fund research in the field of early interventional cartilage replacement surgery. This research will design the technology for cartilage replacement implants, suitable for treating damaged cartilage in young patients (aged 30-50 years) for whom there are no currently established treatments.  This exciting work will be run by a team of engineers, scientists and orthopaedic surgeons with expertise in biomechanics, materials, implant design and manufacture and we are seeking to recruit a post-doctoral research associate to support this project and work in this multi-disciplinary environment. 

There will be a focus on the goal of delivering a suite of implant designs ready for clinical evaluation, supported by relevant wear and fixation testing, using experimental and computational methods.  This project is supported by strong industrial and academic collaborations, and more information can be found by searching for project reference EP/K027549/1 on the EPSRC website http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/. We are seeking applicants with both a strong academic track record and also evidence of working well in collaborations across disciplines.

As part of this exciting new project, applications are invited for a Research Associate to work on this project to develop and investigate the tribology of prototype materials and materials combinations using a range of experimental and computational techniques.  The post will be based in the Medical Engineering Group, which has a long record of work in orthopaedics and strong collaborations with industry and other academic groups. 

The Research Associate will require a range of skills ideally including tribology measurements, building and using pin on plate testing apparatus and measuring wear of polymers and cartilage materials.  Experience interacting with a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical and bio-engineers, tribologists and orthopaedic surgeons is also desirable. There will also be opportunities for some teaching within the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

A PhD (or equivalent) (or near completion of PhD) in mechanical or bioengineering, orthopaedic biomechanics, tribology or related area and a first degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering or similar are required. In addition, some background demonstrating multidisciplinarity is desirable. Particularly welcome would be biomechanics and orthopaedics experience. Experience should ideally include tribological assessment of materials and/or cartilage under controlled laboratory conditions.