Position Details

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974

Grade: 7

Full Time

Fixed Term contract up to July 2025, with further extension likely

Closing date: 10th October 2024

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

Background

This is an exciting opportunity for a full time post doctoral Research fellow, to join Professor Sudha Sundar’s team in conducting studies to develop and validating diagnostic tests to diagnose ovarian cancer early. The post Is funded by the NHS cancer programme through the SONATA study  NCT06129968 and by Cancer Research UK, and hosted in the College of Medicine and Health. The position will be extendable up to 44 months from a programme grant awarded from CRUK

The postholder will take a lead role in a newly funded programme grant for early detection of ovarian cancer called the ROCkeTS GEN Val study. The purpose of this post is to conduct a prospective multicentre study to validate circulating tumour DNA as a novel method for earlier detection of ovarian cancer. This is a follow-on study from a previous study ROCkeTS -GEN investigating ctDNA in ovarian cancer. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/find-a-clinical-trial/a-study-looking-at-current-tests-for-ovarian-cancer-to-help-improve-diagnosis-rockets

The postholder will also support ongoing studies within the SONATA project, NCT06129968 and NIHR funded ROCkeTS, https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/bctu/trials/pd/rockets supporting additional analyses, linkage of trial data to routinely collected NHS datasets and laboratory data. These studies are part of a portfolio of ongoing research in ovarian cancer diagnostics including development and validation of new diagnostics right through to implementation research. The team has had several highly successful manuscripts, including recently in Lancet Oncology ( in press) and impactful research, changing clinical guidance in this field. Several high impact papers are expected from the current body of work. Collaborations with internationally leading academics across the UK and worldwide are ongoing. This post will suit a candidate keen on pursuing a career in early cancer detection and will provide excellent opportunities for career development.

Role Summary

The successful candidate will have a PhD (or one near to completion) in biological sciences with strong skills and experience in conducting clinical studies, recruiting patients and statistical analyses with excellent communication skills and organizational abilities. A background in laboratory research or handling complex datasets would be desirable. The candidate will be expected to contribute to writing bids, analyse and interpret research findings and results, present data, write manuscripts and contribute to public understanding.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Conduct prospective, multicentre diagnostic test accuracy study
• Design Case report forms
• Apply for ethics permissions and necessary HRA, NHS permissions
• Coordinate sample transfer from sites to labs
• Conduct complex dataset linkage linking routinely collected data to trial data.
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc. They will be expected to submit publications to refereed journals and to attract external research funding.
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Support ongoing research projects in the team in the field by intellectual contribution and guidance of students
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• First degree in area of specialism and normally, a PhD (or one near to completion) in biological sciences
• The post holder will be proficient in conducting clinical studies, ideally translational research.
• Experience in conducting diagnostic test accuracy studies and/or complex dataset linkage and/or statistical analysis and/or translational research is desirable.
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Professor Sudha Sundar s.s.sundar@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.