Job description

We are seeking a clinical research fellow to join the department of neuroimaging, led by Prof Steve Williams and for the first 6 months also the department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences with Prof K Ray Chaudhuri, at King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neurosciences.   

The successful candidate will join a large team with extensive experience in neuroimaging and specifically an ambitious large-scale imaging study looking at novel biomarkers and therapeutic markers in people with premanifest and early manifest Huntington’s disease, the iMarkHD study. You would work as a clinical research fellow on this project and be responsible for participant recruitment, clinical assessments and performing study visits, including MRI and PET scanning, and completing data entries.  

You should be a GMC registered physician (or be eligible to register based on e.g. overseas registration) and preferably you should have experience with clinical research and PET and MRI scan procedures. Experience in neurology or neurosciences is desirable, but not essential.  

For the first six months of this post your time will be split between the abovementioned post (at 0.5WTE) and a temporary post as a clinical research fellow (at 0.5WTE) with the Parkinson’s Foundation Centre of Excellence team at King’s College. The purpose of this split is to support the PD-PAL Project (EU Horizon 2020). The PD-PAL study is highly prestigious research programme in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). PD-PAL’s ambition is to validate a new model of palliative care, which would be easily integrated with traditional management when disability limited mobility and independence. Through novel PD management guidelines, PD-Pal researchers envision optimal care protocols for PD patients across Europe.  

These first six months will enable the successful candidate to gain additional experience in clinical research in neurodegenerative disorders and will further facilitate the collaboration between the department of Neuroimaging and the department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences at King’s College. Moreover, the successful applicant will be involved in the PD study portfolio of the department, including commercial as well as non-commercial studies with a focus on non-motor symptoms in PD. 

The Clinical Research Fellow will work at the department of Neuroimaging, as well as at the Parkinson’s Foundation centre of excellence for the first six months, at King’s College London. The clinical research fellow will be responsible for liaising with PIC sites for participant referral, booking and managing of study visits with participants, conducting study visits, as well as performing PET scan imaging including injections, for the iMarkHD study. For the PD part during the first six months, other tasks include a systematic literature review for developing guidelines for palliative care, attending all group meetings of the PD-PAL study and contributing towards publication.  

He/she will be able to develop personal research interest, and depending on availability, collaborating on other research projects within the department. He/she will be given the opportunity to write articles for publication and present data in national and international congresses. Based on experience and views of the candidate, there is the prospect of registering for a PhD where appropriate.  

The successful candidate will be a physician with a GMC full registration with a licence to practise and ideally be a specialised neurologist with an entry on the Specialist Register. He/she will ideally have experience in Neurology and, in particular, in neurodegenerative diseases and Movement Disorders, as well as PET scan imaging procedures. He/she will be supporting the Parkinson’s team in ongoing commercial and academic research studies and trials. 

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 2 years. 

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent

Key responsibilities

• Delivery of the iMarkHD and PD-PAL research goals   
• Being the main point of contact for participants in the iMarkHD project, including booking and managing of the study visits and PET scan tracer injection 
• Deliver the project deliverables in timely manner following local policies/procedures. 
• Data analysis and interpretation 
• Systematic literature review 
• Develop reports, abstracts, and manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals 
• Data presentation in national and international congresses 
• Complete the timesheet submission in timely manner 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria  

1. Registered physician with a license to practice (by the start date for international candidates)  
2. Presentation skills 
3. Ability to handle queries efficiently with diplomacy and tact 
4. Manage own research and administrative activities 
5. Write publication 
6. Expertise with Microsoft Office (including database & statistics) 
7. Understanding of research methodology 
8. Good interpersonal skills to develop and maintain effective working relationships 
9. Ability to work to and meet firm deadlines 
10. Ability to work on own initiative 
11. A very high level of consideration and care for patients and research subjects 
12. Ensuring the welfare and medical care of study subjects 

Desirable criteria

1.       Registered Specialist in neurology with a license to practice (by the start date for international candidates) 

2.       Experience in neurodegenerative diseases and movement disorders and experience with PET scan procedures 

3.       Competence and experience in clinical trials and related studies