Research Assistant/Associate

Salary:

Research Assistant: £34,630 to £36,320 pro rata, per annum

Research Associate: £37,369 to £46,970 pro rata, 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: 5 October 2026

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary research team in the School of Pharmacy. The post-holder will have an interest in deprescribing, qualitative methodology, medicines inequalities and palliative care, and will contribute to a programme of work designed to make an impact on an overlooked area of research.

Deprescribing is an approach that could be used to overcome the challenges of polypharmacy which is frequently reported in palliative care. Any potential deprescribing approach should share the decision to continue, reduce or stop a medication between the patient and a healthcare professional. Much of the existing deprescribing literature (across healthcare broadly, but also within palliative care settings) has focused on people from ethnic majority groups, with limited inclusion of ethnically minoritised voices. There are unknowns around the influence of religion and culture in palliative care, and whether they influence a person’s beliefs and/or engagement with deprescribing. This project will examine evidence on deprescribing for ethnically minoritised groups and aim to co-develop a culturally tailored and inclusive approach to deprescribing decision making. The work is intended to benefit a vulnerable proportion of the polypharmacy population and inform policy and practice across health and social care.

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of Research Innovation Role Profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competencies and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and, secondly, the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/

Find out more about our Research Institutes — Population Health Sciences Institute: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/

Contact for the post: Dr Anna Robinson-Barella (anna.robinson-barella@newcastle.ac.uk) or Prof Adam Todd (adam.todd@newcastle.ac.uk).

Duration of post: 17 months

Key Accountabilitites

Project Specific Accountabilities

• Develop and carry out specified project activities using appropriate research techniques and software, including the analysis of large qualitative datasets, conduct of co-design workshops and experience of reasonable adjustments during interview/data collection
• Undertake and contribute to public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) for research within the School of Pharmacy, working in collaboration with the NIHR Newcastle Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and PPIE leads

Research Assistant

• Collect, analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes
• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, use problem solving to affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project(s)
• Present information on research progress and outcomes to a Principal Investigator or groups overseeing the research project
• Write up results from own research activity and provide input into the research project's dissemination, in whatever form (report, papers, chapters, books)
• Use research resources as appropriate

Research Associate

• Contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of the project
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of the research and its dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and develop own research objectives and proposals for funding

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

Project Specific criteria

• Experience of qualitative research methodology and methods – in particular the conduct of remote and in-person semi-structured interviews and co-design workshops and experience of reasonable adjustments during data collection
• Advanced skills of analytic approaches for qualitative analysis – including reflexive thematic analysis
• Experience of successfully gaining NHS HRA ethical approval and the setting up and running of NHS sites for research
• Experience in one or more qualitative software packages (e.g. NVivo)
• Expertise of inclusive public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) in research

Research Assistant

• Attention to detail and ability to work at high levels of accuracy
• Ability to present complex information effectively to a range of audiences
• Proven ability to analyse data and write-up results
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues
• Excellent IT skills in all major office applications
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems.

In addition for Research Associate

• Awareness of the research environment
• High level of analytical and problem solving capacity
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity
• Experience of presentations at conferences and/or in high quality publications

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to working positively as a member of a multi-skilled research team
• Ability to negotiate and prioritise multiple, competing responsibilities and to work to deadlines
• Commitment to continued professional development
• Understanding of good practice in equality, diversity and inclusion and working with public and patient contributors

Qualifications

Research Assistant

• Honours degree with a strong qualitative component in a subject relevant to deprescribing, inequalities and palliative care
• Master's degrees with a strong qualitative component in a subject relevant to deprescribing, inequalities and palliative care

In addition for Research Associate

• PhD in a relevant area — e.g. qualitative methodology, polypharmacy or deprescribing or public health — required for appointment at Associate level

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 Gold 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: 29808