THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT

FACULTY OF BIOLOGY, MEDICINE & HEALTH

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

DIVISION OF PHARMACY AND OPTOMETRY

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

VACANCY REF: BMH-025018

Salary: Grade 6 £36,024 to £44,263 per annum, depending on relevant experience

Hours: Full Time (1 FTE)

Duration: Fixed Term From 1st May 2024 Until 31st March 2026

Location: Oxford Road, Manchester

____________________________________________________________________________

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Professor Darren Ashcroft
Email: darren.ashcroft@manchester.ac.uk
_____________________________________________________________________

Introduction to the University of Manchester and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and
Health
The University of Manchester is the largest single-site university in the UK with around 38,000
students and more than 11,000 staff. We aim to become one of the top 25 research universities
in the world and are committed to delivering an outstanding teaching and learning experience;
contributing to the social and economic success of local, national and international communities;
producing the highest calibre graduates; and developing our staff to be amongst the very best of
their peers.

To achieve our ambitious goals, we aim to attract and retain the very best people to work across
a range of academic disciplines and support functions.

The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

The integrated structure of our faculty enables a truly translational approach to biology, medicine
and health - from pure discovery science through to clinical application and patient care. It also
encourages collaborative working, enabling staff to deliver innovative, world-leading research that
has a very real and positive impact on people’s lives, as well as high-quality education and training
to over 11,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Our Strategic Partnerships
The faculty has established a number of key strategic partnerships that underpin its ambitions to
develop ground-breaking research.

Working alongside six local NHS Trusts, the Faculty is a key member of the
https://mft.nhs.uk/withington/research/manchester-academic-health-science-centre-mahsc/ - a
federation of equal partners that unites leading healthcare providers with world-class academics
and researchers. It aims to be a global centre for the delivery of applied health research and
education and provide leadership for our local and regional health systems.

We also play a leading role in https://healthinnovationmanchester.com/, which was launched in

September 2015, as part of the UK Government’s decision to devolve health and social care
responsibilities to Greater Manchester. HInM offers a unique opportunity to bring together health
and social care, academic and life science related business resources across the region to deliver
an innovative health ecosystem that can help accelerate innovation into our local health and social
care systems, enhance our global scientific standing and act as a magnet for inward investment.

Key partnerships in the charitable sector include Cancer Research UK; Diabetes UK; and the
Wellcome Trust; and the faculty also has research and funding links to a number of commercial
organisations including Unilever, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Boots, who help us to bring
new drugs and products to the market.

Working for the University of Manchester

The University of Manchester strives to make our community a welcoming, caring and enthusiastic
one, fuelling ambition with opportunities and support to help us all achieve our personal and
professional goals.

Our diverse job opportunities include an attractive https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/people-

and-od/benefit/ with family-friendly policies that provide for flexible working. We care deeply about
career and personal development, offering a structured induction programme for new staff, an
annual performance and development review, staff training for all career stages and mentoring
opportunities to support your career development.

We have a genuine commitment to http://www.manchester.ac.uk/connect/jobs/equality-

diversity/awards/ for our staff and students, and are proud to employ a workforce that reflects the
diverse community we serve.

As a global institution, situated at the heart of a lively,

chttp://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/experience/student-life/city/, we welcome applicants of all
nationalities. To help international job applicants plan for life in the UK, we have put together
some useful http://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/employment/joining-the-
university/international-staff/ travel to the UK, accommodation and a number of other practical
considerations.

NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre

The NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) transforms scientific breakthroughs
into diagnostic tests and life-saving treatments for patients. Manchester BRC’s vision is to drive
personalised health and care for all.
We will:
Embed early translational research further into our communities and localities by deepening the
meaningful involvement of patients, public and civic partners.

Build a unique national powerhouse for innovation by combining the world-leading discovery and
translational science capabilities of our partnership with a strong research culture centred on a
committed, diverse and inclusive workforce.

Accelerate at scale, the impact of our research through our mature and integrated innovation
pipeline to achieve measurable improvements in health and wellbeing across all sections of
society in our region and beyond.

We were awarded more than £60 million from the NIHR for 2022 to 2027 to translate scientific
discoveries into new treatments, diagnostic tests, and medical technologies to improve people’s
lives and reduce health inequalities in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria.

This award allows us to expand our research capacity both in terms of research themes and
geographical reach to improve health outcomes across our region’s urban, rural and coastal
communities.

It will enable our BRC to drive forward pioneering research within 13 different theme areas
grouped into four clusters:
• Cancer: Prevention and Early Detection, Advanced Radiotherapy, Cancer Precision Medicine
and Living With and Beyond Cancer.
• Inflammation: Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases, Respiratory Medicine,
Dermatology, Integrative Cardiovascular Medicine.
• High-burden Under-researched Conditions: Hearing Health, Mental Health and Rare
Conditions.
• Disease Complexity and Multi-morbidity: Next Generation Therapeutics, Next Generation
Phenotyping and Diagnostics.

Overall Job Purpose

You will lead on the delivery of a portfolio of projects within the BRC Living With and Beyond
Cancer Theme. Across the projects, critical to the role will be engaging with patients, clinicians
and other stakeholders to optimise study design, data analysis, and the impact of your findings.
All researchers are expected to actively engage with BRC operations, and our vibrant research
culture and will benefit from the opportunity for training and conferences presentations to support
career development. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in our research team,
processes and research priorities and are always seeking to review and improve this. We actively
encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds.

Background to the Position

This Research Associate post will be line managed by Prof Darren Ashcroft but you will also work
with other BRC team members to deliver the research programme.

Key Accountabilities
The remit of the post-holder shall focus on conducting epidemiological and risk prediction studies
involving data manipulation and analysis of electronic health record databases to provide new
estimates on the disease burden of physical and mental health conditions following the diagnosis
of cancer.
The post-holder will be expected to write up the findings for publication in academic journals and
other important aspects of their work will be patient and public involvement, as well as wider
dissemination beyond expert clinical and academic audiences.

The role will also include obtaining necessary governance approvals at project outset. Other
responsibilities will include literature searching, working collaboratively on funding applications,
providing regular progress reports, writing blogs to help promote the research and our findings,
writing publications (as the lead or a co-author) and other dissemination activities. There is a
strong focus on stakeholder engagement and impact, making this an ideal position for those who
are keen to build their networks, develop their expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics, and
deliver research that makes a difference to people who have lived experience of cancer and their
families.

To lead on the day-to-day management of research projects, aimed at developing the overall
legacy and impact of the BRC Living With and Beyond Cancer Theme, through:
• Leading on research design and conduct of epidemiological studies, including data analysis
of large inter-linked electronic health record datasets.
• Implementing and leading on good governance in research, including ethics, and information
/ data management.
• Preparing protocols for systematic reviews and electronic Research Applications Portal
(eRAP) approval to use the Clinical Practice Research Datalink or other relevant data sources.
• Contributing to the preparation of applications for research funding.
• Managing research project meetings, including preparing documentation and liaising with
external collaborators and stakeholders.
• Leading on contributions to BRC annual reporting for your research.
• Reporting regularly to the project team on project progress and outcomes to enable monitoring
and reporting to collaborating organisations.
• Engaging effectively with patients, the public and healthcare staff to ensure our research
meets the needs of these groups.
• Leading on the writing and publication of academic papers and conference presentations.
• Enhancing the impact of our work through engagement with a variety of academic and non-
academic audiences (blogs, social media etc).
• Involvement in collaborations with researchers in other research centres nationally and
internationally.
• Active engagement and participation within the broader BRC operations, culture and values,
to promote a world-class collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment.
• Undertaking relevant training and ensuring that research governance procedures and
• GDPR/data security procedures are adhered to.
• Undertaking personal development to further enhance your career and expertise in
epidemiological research.
All posts are subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications
Essential:
• A PhD (or equivalent) in epidemiology or statistics

Skills and Knowledge

Essential:
• Excellent quantitative research skills relevant to the research programme, including the use of
appropriate software packages (such as STATA or R)
• High level of numeracy and analytical skills
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills, including the ability to deliver timely and
high-quality outputs.
• Ability to plan, organise, and complete analyses without detailed supervision
• Ability to develop effective working relationships with all levels of staff, and external contacts
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to communicate with a wide
range of people at all levels
• Ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to work independently, use own initiative, where appropriate, and be proactive in
approach to work
• Ability and enthusiasm to learn new skills
• Ability to reflect on their work, their impact on other team members, the way they carry it out
and suggest improvements within the team where necessary

Experience
Essential:
• Experience in the delivery of high-quality applied health services research related to large
population-based epidemiological studies.
• Extensive experience in obtaining appropriate governance and management permissions to
conduct research studies.
• Experience of working with large population based electronic health databases (such as the
Clinical Practice Research Datalink, CPRD).
• Extensive experience of using multivariate statistical methods, such as multiple regression,
using Stata or R.
• Experience of leading in writing up research findings and publications in high quality peer
reviewed journals, as well as other high-quality formats and dissemination.
• Experience of work to involve patients for collaboration in research and dissemination
• Willingness to undertake further training.
• The ability to travel independently to study locations, possibly outside of the United Kingdom.

Desirable:
• Experience of obtaining competitive research grants

Knowledge
Essential:
• Information governance and confidentiality
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity issues and how this affects patients, carers and staff.

Desirable:
• Excellent knowledge of cancer epidemiology, co-morbidities, treatments and economic impact
of the disease, preferably gained from previous research experience