Clinical Research Fellow

Salary: Candidates will be appointed on the appropriate scale up to a maximum salary of £55,336 per annum, depending on skills and experience   

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: 08 May 2024

The Role

This role is an exciting opportunity for a clinical academic (doctor, mental health nurse or clinical psychologist) to join the Newcastle University Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Partnership.

The post provides up to three years of funding (or four years funding less than full time) for a clinician to deliver a research project and undertake a PhD.  The focus of this fellowship is to improve our understanding of the link between late onset psychosis and dementia. The successful applicant will undertake a research project recruiting people with very late onset psychosis (age >60 years) to investigate whether blood biomarkers of dementia and inflammation are linked to cognitive decline in this group. They will also undertake a project using anonymised electronic care records to identify clinical predictors of dementia in very late onset psychosis. 

You will be responsible for recruiting and assessing participants including screening, taking informed consent, taking clinical history and performing physical examination and cognitive assessment, and maintaining relevant study documentation.  You will formulate a research question for your PhD, design and undertake data analysis and write up your findings for presentation at international conferences and publication in peer reviewed journals.

The post and research study are funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Dementia, Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Theme. It is linked to the Lewybodylab and part of the Mental Health, Dementia and Neurodegeneration Research Theme in the Translational and Clinical Research Institute at Newcastle University. You will join a vibrant research group of international standing and join a cohort of clinical graduate students in the Newcastle Health Innovation Partners Academy. You will have a range of opportunities to develop study-specific and generic skills to help you in your future career.

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

For informal enquires, please contact Dr Paul Donaghy (paul.donaghy@ncl.ac.uk). 

Key Accountabilities
•    Register for a PhD and meet the on-going requirements for post-graduate research at Newcastle University
•    Contribution to the research programme of the Translational and Clinical Research Institute and the Newcastle BRC under the clear guidance of a member of an academic staff or Principal Investigator
•    Assist in the identification, screening, recruitment and assessment of people with very late onset psychosis from local clinics
•    Be responsible for clinical assessments of patients, including history taking, physical examination, cognitive examination and diagnostic confirmation
•    Perform blood sampling if appropriate
•    Interact with other members of the study team for example, the Principal Investigator, other investigators, Clinical Ageing Research Unit staff members, research assistant/associates, laboratory technicians and lay representatives
•    Interact with your supervisors, biostatisticians and bioinformaticians to discuss the data derived from your samples and devise appropriate plans for analysis
•    Help to prepare data for publication in relevant, high impact factor journals
•    Provide guidance to other staff and students, potentially including supervision of undergraduate research project students
•    Attend and present work at laboratory, Biomedical Research Centre and national/international meetings
•    Be prepared  to  contribute  to  events  celebrating  public  engagement  in science
•    Co-ordinate own work with that of others, deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project
•    Work to deadlines and manage, with support, competing priorities
•    Ensure that personal knowledge and training in relevant fields of study is kept up to date, closely managed by a senior academic or Principal Investigator
•    Work with other researchers in a team and actively participate in collaborative research
•    Undertake agreed and limited clinical activities in the context of maintaining your profession skills and supporting study activities and recruitment

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    Expert knowledge of psychosis and dementia
•    Excellent clinical skills with experience in the care of people with psychosis and neurodegenerative diseases
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with research participants and colleagues
•    Excellent database management and record keeping
•    Expertise in statistical analyses
•    The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues
•    The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems
•    Ability to extract and interpret complex medical information from medical records
•    Excellent planning and organisation skills and ability to prioritise competing demands
•    Core clinical skills, including phlebotomy if appropriate
•    Experience in taking informed consent
Desirable 
•    Evidence of academic aptitude (e.g. publications/presentations)
•    Experience of using electronic patient records
•    Current driving license and experience in undertaking clinical home visits

Attributes and Behaviour 
•    Able to work as part of a team but also independently
•    Conscientious
•    Enthusiastic and curious
•    Ability to work flexibly, and under pressure

Qualifications 
•    Relevant qualifications and current registration to work as a doctor, clinical psychologist or nurse in the UK i.e.
o    Medical degree and GMC registration with license to practice in the UK; OR
o    Post-graduate doctoral level training in Applied Psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS and HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
o    Nursing degree and NMC Registration in Mental Health Nursing 

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: 26990