Research Associate / Senior Research Associate in Clinical Informatics
Newcastle, GB
Salary:
Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum
Senior Research Associate: £45,585 to £54,395 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: 12 December 2023
The Role
This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate in clinical informatics or a related discipline, with strong quantitative skills to work in the Informatics and Precision Care for an Ageing Population team in the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre.
You will join an interdisciplinary team using world-class healthcare data in precision medicine clinical trials to understand the complex disease processes in multiple long-term conditions. You will be supervised by Chris Plummer, the Newcastle BRC Informatics Lead and Chief Clinical Information Officer at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a Global Digital Exemplar and internationally recognised NHS provider delivering improvements in the quality of care, through the world-class use of digital technologies and information.
You will also be supervised by Prof Miles Witham, Professor of Trials for Older People at Newcastle University and Prof Alastair Burt, Theme Co-Lead for Precision Medicine, Genomics and Informatics in Newcastle University.
The principal aim of this role is to develop learning health systems which realise the potential of routinely collected healthcare data in precision medicine trials, to identify patients with physical, social, and genomic characteristics which make them most likely to benefit from specific treatment strategies. This can then be integrated into digital health records as clinical decision support to front-line clinicians in the delivery of care and collect robust outcome data to informs the iterative co-design process of quality improvement in the delivery of healthcare.
The post will be located in state-of-the-art facilities within the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University and in the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
This full-time post is fixed term for a period of 2 years
For informal enquiries please contact: Chris.Plummer@newcastle.ac.uk
Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here
Find out more about our Research Institutes here
Find out more about the NIHR Newcastle BRC here
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Key Accountabilities
• Investigate appropriate methodologies for informatics research, with advice and support where required
• Assess research findings, the opportunities for further investigation and support the development of these investigations
• Contribute ideas to the technical or methodological aspects of the Precision Medicine and Informatics BRC Theme
• Contribute to the development and conduct of specified clinical informatics projects using appropriate techniques
• To contribute to the development of analytics tools and clinical decision support algorithms for use within new or existing software systems
• Assist in the preparation and writing of research papers and make significant contributions to group research papers
• Present research findings at conferences and other meetings, workshops, and events as appropriate
• Contribute to grant applications and proposals for funding
• Contribute to the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate projects and dissertations and support other teaching activities (e.g., leading seminars)
• Contribute to the supervision of Research Assistants
• Contribute to public and patient involvement/engagement (PPIE) activities within the theme
• Take a role in developing informatics capacity across the theme by delivering training and support for researchers
• Participate in the activities of the Translational and Clinical Research Institute and other University research groupings when appropriate
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment
• Contribute to data collection and data curation in studies being led by the BRC and support others in their work on these studies
• Actively seek out opportunities for interdisciplinary research
The Person (Essential)
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Professional experience of research with clear transferable skills and awareness of the research environment
• Good analytical and problem-solving capability and ability to rapidly acquire new skills
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity
• Excellent verbal communication skills evidenced by delivery of oral presentations at local and national conferences
• Excellent written communication skills evidenced by co-authoring of peer-reviewed scientific articles and a track record of publications appropriate for career stage
• A publication record, showing evidence of work of at least national quality
• Involvement in drafting manuscripts
• Good coordination, time management, analysis, and presentation skills
• Experience of project management, including contribution to the preparation of proposals for research funding, and monitoring research budgets.
• Willingness to work with study participants and collect primary data
• Theoretical and practical proficiency with data analysis tools
Attributes and Behaviour
• Ability to work to deadlines and manage conflicting priorities
• Demonstrates development of intellectual independence and academic discipline
• Ability to work in small research and multi-professional teams
• Ability to evaluate concepts and theories in order to develop original solutions
• Commitment to personal development as a future research leader, including reading to keep up to date with new and improved clinical informatics knowledge, skills, techniques and research
• Expectation and willingness to work outside normal office hours including weekends and to work away from main laboratory site including national and international collaborative visits
Qualifications
• A PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Biomedical Sciences, Physics or Engineering or a similar discipline with an interest in Life Sciences and experience in Clinical Informatics or Programming
SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Key Accountabilities
• Determine appropriate methodologies for informatics research, with advice and support where required
• Assess research findings, the opportunities for further investigation and support the development of these investigations
• Contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of the Precision Medicine and Informatics BRC Theme
• Develop and carry out specified clinical informatics projects using appropriate techniques
• To develop analysis tools and deploy clinical decision support algorithms for use within new or existing software systems
• Lead on the preparation and writing of research papers and make significant contributions to group research papers
• Present research findings at conferences and other meetings, workshops, and events as appropriate
• Contribute to grant applications and develop own research objectives and proposals for funding
• Contribute to the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate projects and dissertations and support other teaching activities (e.g., leading seminars)
• Contribute to the supervision of Research Assistants
• Contribute to public and patient involvement/engagement (PPIE) activities within the theme
• Take a role in developing informatics capacity across the theme by planning and delivering training and support for researchers
• Participate in the activities of the Translational and Clinical Research Institute and other University research groupings when appropriate
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment
• Actively contribute to data collection and data curation in studies being led by the BRC and support others in their work on these studies
• Play an active part in research networks and actively seek out and develop opportunities for interdisciplinary research.
The Person (Essential)
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Substantial professional experience of research with clear transferable skills and awareness of the research environment
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capability and ability to rapidly acquire new skills
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity
• Excellent verbal communication skills evidenced by delivery of oral presentations at national and international conferences and other forms of dissemination
• Excellent written communication skills evidenced by lead writing of peer-reviewed scientific articles and a track record of publications appropriate for career stage
• A significant publication record, showing evidence of work of at least national quality
• Involvement in drafting manuscripts
• Good coordination, time management, analysis, and presentation skills
• Experience of project management, including contribution to the preparation of proposals for research funding, and monitoring research budgets.
• Willingness to work with study participants and collect primary data
• Substantial theoretical and practical proficiency with data analysis tools
Attributes and Behaviour
• Ability to work to deadlines and manage conflicting priorities
• Demonstrates development of intellectual independence and academic discipline
• Ability to provide leadership to small research teams and to work with multi-professional teams
• Ability to evaluate concepts and theories in order to develop original solutions
• Commitment to personal development as a future research leader, including extensive reading to keep up to date with new and improved clinical informatics knowledge, skills, techniques and research
• Expectation and willingness to work outside normal office hours including weekends and to work away from main laboratory site including national and international collaborative visits
Qualifications
• A PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Biomedical Sciences, Physics or Engineering or a similar discipline with an interest in Life Sciences and experience in Clinical Informatics or Programming
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: 26421