Research Fellow, School of Medicine Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences

Job reference: 23/111249
Date posted: 18/09/2023
Application closing date: 02/10/2023
Salary: £37,841 per annum
Job category/type: Research

The School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences (MDBS) at Queen’s University Belfast, is currently seeking to appoint an exceptional candidate to the post of Research Fellow within the Centre for Public Health.

The principal aim of this post is to support the completion of an observational cohort study.

This study has followed-up 315 participants recruited in 2012-2014 to investigate post-operative delirium following primary arthroplasty surgery. Telephone and in-person study visits have been completed. Laboratory analysis of baseline and follow-up biosamples are ongoing. Active global collaborations are in place. In addition to the originally-planned statistical analyses there is the opportunity to undertake more novel and complex analyses.

Evidence is accumulating that postoperative delirium is a marker of brain vulnerability. Cognitive prognosis following delirium remains unclear. This project aimed to test the hypothesis that participants who developed postoperative delirium will have worse cognition eight years later compared to those who did not develop postoperative delirium and the effect of delirium will be independent of preoperative cognition and biomarkers. This project followed up participants previously recruited between 2012 and 2014 to an observational cohort study (n=315) investigating postoperative delirium following elective orthopaedic surgery which sampled DNA, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. Participants were invited for a telephone interview followed by a one-off follow-up study visit where updated medical history, repeat cognitive assessments, collateral history taking and blood sampling were completed. It is anticipated that the results of this study will inform individualised prognosis following postoperative delirium. This in turn will strengthen the case for national and international guidelines regarding postoperative patient counselling, follow-up care planning and intervention to improve brain health and potentially modify Alzheimer’s disease processes after postoperative delirium.

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate you have: 

• Honours Degree minimum of a 2:1 (or equivalent) in a health, social sciences, public health, or statistics related subject
• Obtained or be about to obtain a relevant PhD in epidemiology, social sciences, applied statistics, informatics, or public health related area including pharmacy and economics
• Significant relevant research experience to this project
• Experience of using statistical packages such as SPSS or STATA
• Demonstrable proficiency in academic paper writing
• Experience handling raw clinical data.

Please note the above are not an exhaustive list. For further information about the role including the essential and desirable criteria please click the Candidate Information link below.

This post is fixed term for up to 3 months, or available until 2 February 2024, whichever is sooner. Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

At Queen’s our people are at the heart of everything we do. As a staff member you will become part of a vibrant organisational culture, which will provide you with the opportunity to achieve your full potential and enhance your career through a continuous focus on learning and development. 

We offer an excellent employment package that includes:

• Great terms & conditions
• Pension schemes
• Flexible working by enabling you to design your working week in collaboration with your manager through a blend of remote and office working                              
• Family-friendly initiatives
• Career development opportunities
• Support for health & mental wellbeing
• Generous holiday entitlement of 8.4 weeks a year (made up of 23 days annual leave, 10 closure days and 9 bank holidays)

Queen’s University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We have created an inclusive culture by establishing staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.

We also subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI in addition to Athena Swan. For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit:  www.qub.ac.uk/diversity; www.qub.ac.uk/qgi and www.qub.ac.uk/sites/StaffGateway/StaffNetworks/

Informal enquiries may be directed to Aoife Sweeney - a.sweeney@qub.ac.uk 

Candidate Information
About the Centre
Attractive Reward Package
Information for International Applicants