Research Fellow – Real World Evidence – INTERNAL ONLY

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

Guy’s Cancer Real World Evidence is a collaboration between clinicians at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust (GSTT) and epidemiologists at King’s College London, using anonymised routinely collected clinical patient data to guide quality improvement/research and patient care.   

Following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 our partnership accelerated. Harnessing academic research and clinical analytics, we prioritised rapid high-quality data collection ensuring findings directly influenced local care pathways and (inter)national policy. No academic or NHS institution could deliver this work alone – hence this analytics partnership has proven to be of high value for both the patients and staff of our NHS Trust.  

The post holder will be part of Guy’s Cancer Real World Evidence. The post holder will work as part of the TOUR team. The Group is based at the Guy’s Campus.  

The post holder will be an experienced epidemiologist with an understanding of clinical cancer care and will be required to lead on projects relating to different tumour types. The post holder will bring together a multi-disciplinary team of collaborators to conduct studies in the context of clinical cancer epidemiology – with a focus on improving outcomes and experiences of cancer patients using the real world setting. A scientist with excellent project management skills is needed. The post-holder is expected to prepare scientific papers for publication, to present at national/international scientific conferences and to contribute to applications for external funding.

Contribution to research will be recognised through authorship on publications. Opportunity is provided for further professional development. 

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 6 months, with a possibility for an extension. 

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

•         To take responsibility for several epidemiological studies. This will include some or all of: contributing to design, data-form design, project management, undertaking statistical analyses, writing reports and papers. 

•         To conduct critical appraisal of specific studies

•         To contribute to the development and/or dissemination of sound epidemiological methodology appropriate to the group’s portfolio of studies.

•         To contribute to the writing, review and approval of clinical trial protocols and statistical analysis plans

•         To contribute to the writing of grant applications and where appropriate, lead on grant applications

•         To take responsibility for the writing and publication of high-quality papers in peer-reviewed literature both nationally and internationally

•         To present to national/international scientific conferences

•         To establish a national (and international) reputation as a cancer epidemiologist in a particular area

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.  

Essential criteria  

1.       MSc in epidemiology or public health or equivalent degree (e.g. MRs in Translational Cancer Research)

2.       PhD in Cancer Epidemiology

3.       Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills; ability to accurately document technical details and convey complex information clearly

4.       Experience of working effectively in a team as well as on their own.

5.       Experience supporting users with no technical knowledge

6.       Ability to compile, interrogate and analyse data to produce meaningful and accessible reports

7.       Sound understanding of design, conduct and analysis of epidemiological studies

8.       Good methodological skills in epidemiological research

9.       IT literate with a good working knowledge of statistical, mathematical and database packages

10.    Ability to analyse epidemiological data using standard techniques (e.g. logistic regression, mediation analysis) without supervision

11.    Ability to extract form data bases

12.    Experience in cancer epidemiology 

13.    Experience in the development of protocols and implementation studies 

14.    Experience in working with large epidemiological datasets 

15.    Experience of presenting findings at meeting or conferences 

Desirable criteria

16.   Experience of conducting systematic reviews 

17.   Peer-reviewed publications 

The Translational Oncology and Urology Research (TOUR) team aims to turn science into better healthcare by translating uro-oncology research into medical practice. TOUR is led by Professor Mieke Van Hemelrijck, bringing together a team of researchers, clinicians, students, research nurses, trial coordinators, and database managers who are active across the field of translational research. 

The translational research work of the group encompasses a heterogeneous set of activities in the area of prostate, bladder, renal, and testicular cancer, covering both bedside and bench. Moreover, Dr Van Hemelrijck leads Guy’s Cancer Real World Evidence (RWE) together with Dr Anne Rigg from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The programme aims to amplify Guy’s Cancer RWE data science capability and allow progress answering challenging cancer research questions. Guy’s Cancer RWE will drive world class patient centred research.