Clinical Research Associate - NU CAT

Salary: £41,634 to £70,425 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 24 March 2025

The Role

Newcastle Cancer Centre hosts one of Cancer Research UKs Clinical Academic Training Programmes.  The Newcastle University-CRUK Clinical Academic Training (NU-CAT) programme offers fully funded 3 year PhD fellowships for clinicians wishing to develop an academic career in cancer research.  The training programme is integrated in the NIHR NHIP Academy, benefitting from the mentoring and support available during PhD studies and beyond to build a career as a clinical academic in translational cancer research.

The NU-CAT programme, in which the successful candidates will undertake a fully funded PhD 3-year fellowship, aims to nurture aspiring clinical academics through their early research career to becoming successful independent researchers and leaders in their chosen cancer related field. The programme, in addition to the individual’s PhD supervisory team, offers a structured individualised mentorship plan, a flexible supportive training environment, access to the wider CRUK centre network of clinical academics and ongoing support and career guidance throughout clinical academic training.

We invite anyone considering a career in academic medicine in a cancer-related field to consider this exciting opportunity to join the NU-CAT programme. Potential NU-CAT PhD candidates will be supported to connect with potential research supervisors within Newcastle University Centre for Cancer to find a project aligned with their interests as part of the application process (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/cancer/). Candidates with their own project and pre-identified supervisory team are also encouraged to apply.  

You will have a medical degree and have completed general professional medical or surgical training at membership level (such as MRCP/MRCS). You will need to be able to demonstrate your ability to develop a research proposal, have excellent time management and problem-solving skills, and demonstrate the potential to develop as a future clinical academic.

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role.

To apply for the position, we’ll need your CV and a cover letter outlining how you are suitable for the role using evidence to highlight how you meet the essential criteria in the knowledge, skills and experience as listed in the job description 

Informal enquires to: Ruth.Plummer@newcastle.ac.uk 

Key Accountabilities

•    To work as part of a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, scientists and support staff, fulfilling the vision of the CRUK Newcastle Cancer Centre to provide the people of the North East of England with access to state-of-the-art cancer treatments and information by undertaking world class translational cancer research in a centre of excellence in partnership with local and national stakeholders.
•    To undertake an agreed research project to advance cancer research, to obtain a higher research degree and to achieve a publication record of the kind that will enhance the centre’s research reputation at national and international level that will clearly demonstrate originality an scholarship and provide a foundation for a future clinical academic career.
•    To attend and participate in the Centre’s academic activities e.g. laboratory, journal club and research group meetings and weekly seminars, develop research initiatives and original contributions to the research programme wherever possible and will contribute freely to the team research environment in a manner conducive to the success of the research project as a whole. It will be important to keep up to date with specific, clinical and professional issues, in particular developments in the specific area.
•    To undertake, if appropriate for the specified research project and with the correct approvals in place, appropriate clinical research activities such as recruitment of patients to translational studies within Consultant-led clinics within the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Attendance at relevant cancer multi-disciplinary meetings may provide additional experience in patient management, in addition to providing ongoing education in best clinical practice. 

The Person 
 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    A Strong and demonstrable interest in clinical cancer research 
•    Publication record in peer-reviewed journals
•    Previous experience in clinical or laboratory-based research
•    Analytical and problem solving capability
•    Strong commitment to the study of biomedicine and translational science 
•    Team membership skills within multidisciplinary research teams 
•    Commitment to continuing professional development
•    Ability to communicate complex information with clarity, both verbally and in writing 
•    Excellent IT skills
•    Capacity for original thought
•    Demonstrable time management skills
•    Ability to take an active role in determining the future direction of research projects.

Attributes and Behaviour 
•    Ambitious and strive for excellence, with a demonstrable drive to succeed and to produce work of the highest quality 
•    Conscientious
•    Enthusiastic and curious 
•    Ability to work flexibly, and under pressure 

Qualifications 
•    Medical degree and completion of general professional medical training to allow entry into speciality training (for example MRCP)  
•    Full GMC registration with a licence to practice

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27951