Research Associate (ENHANCED project) - Strand, London, WC2R 2LSAbout usThe Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a leading centre for mental health and neuroscience research in Europe. Research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness, neurological conditions and other conditions that affect the brain. The Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences (FANS) is one of Europe’s largest research groups, bringing together leading experts in brain development and neurodiversity. We undertake basic sciences, translation, and applied clinical research to improve outcomes. Working as part of a world-class academic team based in the FANS Department and with collaborators in other Universities and the third sector, the successful candidate will play a central role in the delivery of a high-profile and innovative research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The ENHANCED research programme aims to harness the power of routinely collected electronic health data to improve healthcare delivery to people with a learning disability and autistic people. This involves using multiple linked data sources of primary, secondary, and social care, and investigating the use of reasonable adjustments to reduce healthcare inequalities, and a novel Machine Learning workstream to develop an intervention which may be implemented in routine clinical care. About the roleWe are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Post-Doctoral Research Associate who has experience of clinical informatics and using real-world electronic health data. The post-doctoral Research Associate will play key role in the delivery of the ENHANCED research project. They will contribute to all aspects of a series of studies using real-world electronic health data to investigate and improve the healthcare of people with a learning disability and autistic people. This includes protocol design, obtaining approvals, data assembly / analysis specifications, management of large linked datasets, and undertaking / overseeing statistical analysis with support from other members of the research team. The Research Associate will be a member of the Project Management Group and will help with liaison with multi-disciplinary members of research team across departments and institutions as well as co-ordination to ensure the smooth running of the project. The appointee will assist the wider team in the dissemination of study findings, including writing research manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences. The successful candidate will liaise regularly with our multi-disciplinary collaborators across departments and research institutions and will have excellent negotiation skills and written and verbal communication abilities. The post-holder will be responsible to the project Principal Investigators, Professor Andre Strydom and Dr Rory Sheehan. The post-holder will be supported in their role by the wider research team. They will assist in the supervision of a Research Assistant attached to the project. We will support academic career development, for example, in professional skills development through local Early Career Researcher Networks and the College’s wider training programme. This is a full time role (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an fixed term contract until 31/03/28.About youTo be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: Essential criteriaA science or healthcare-related Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with a healthcare research component (minimum 2:1) PhD in relevant area (awarded or thesis submitted, please provide evidence of this in the document section of the applicatation) High degree of competence in standard medical statistics and in using statistical software packages (e.g. R, Stata or Python)Experience working with large-scale routinely-collected healthcare data (primary or secondary care datasets e.g. CPRD, CRIS) An understanding of confidentiality and protocols for ethics and data management and protection Ability to write scientific reports to a publishable standard Capable of working effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary research teamAn enthusiasm for healthcare data research and willingness to adapt and learn new research methodsDesirable criteria Competence in advanced analytical techniques including standard machine learning and/or causal inference machine learning, Bayesian statistics, or Natural Language Processing (NLP) Demonstrated interest in working with people with neurodevelopmental conditions and their carers/supportersScientific publications (journal publications or conference abstracts)Supervision of more junior members of staffDownloading a copy of our Job DescriptionFull details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process. Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.