Independent Research Fellow (AI & Digital Health)

Helium Health is one of Africa’s leading digital health technology companies, working at the intersection of clinical care, data science, and innovation. Over the last decade, Helium has developed a rare depth of structured health information across diverse populations and care settings. We are launching a focused research publication initiative to produce a series of high-quality, peer-reviewed studies in leading journals. These publications will showcase novel insights at the intersection of health data, AI, and global health equity.

We are seeking a Independent Research Fellow to support the end-to-end execution of this publication program. In this role, you will work directly with the PI/CEO (first author) to:

• Coordinate all aspects of the research pipeline.
• Prepare and analyze data.
• Draft, edit, and format manuscripts.
• Manage collaborators and journal submissions.

This is a unique opportunity to gain co-authorship on multiple high-impact papers, while contributing to work that will shape the global conversation on bias, fairness, and representation in health AI.

• This is a Full-Time, 18–24 Month Contract (with option to extend)

Responsibilities:

• Pipeline coordination: Track and manage timelines for 6+ manuscripts across design, analysis, drafting, and submission.
• Data preparation & analysis: Clean, structure, and run statistical/ML analyses under PI direction.
• Manuscript drafting: Contribute to literature reviews, methods, results sections, figures, and references.
• Collaboration: Liaise with academic partners (UCSF, LSHTM, Imperial, etc.) and manage correspondence.
• Compliance: Support IRB exemption filings and ensure GDPR/NDPR/HIPAA-compliant governance.
• Submission management: Prepare manuscripts for target journals (JAMIA, npj Digital Medicine, BMJ Health Informatics, The Lancet Digital Health) and coordinate revisions.
• Master’s or PhD in Health Informatics, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Biomedical Data Science, or related field.
• Publication experience (co-author on peer-reviewed papers; understands the submission/revision process).
• Strong technical skills in R/Python, statistics, and longitudinal health data.
• Highly organized project manager — able to keep multiple manuscripts moving in parallel.

Strong academic writing ability (clear, precise, structured). Comfortable being supporting author — enabling the PI/CEO to serve as first author while gaining co-authorship on multiple publications. Mission-driven, with interest in health equity and AI. Unique research opportunity: Contribute to studies based on a rare health data resource with global relevance. Guaranteed publications: Co-authorship on multiple peer-reviewed papers in 18–24 months. Professional growth: Beyond publications, you’ll gain mentorship from senior academics, visibility in global health networks, opportunities to present at conferences, and hands-on experience with data governance at scale. Career development: This role is designed as an intensive publishing sprint that positions you for next steps in academia (faculty track), industry research, or senior data science roles. Future opportunities: While the role is fixed-term, successful candidates may transition into permanent positions at Helium or within its academic/industry partnerships. Team environment: You will work directly with the PI/CEO (first author) and coordinate with a small cross-functional team (data engineers, statisticians, and external academic collaborators). Impact: Advance pioneering work at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and equity.