Clinical Research Associate BMD Hub at Newcastle University

Company description:

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Job description:

The Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a part time Clinical Research Associate to work within the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC) to support and conduct clinical research including clinical trials, pre-clinical research and to also participate in specialised clinical and diagnostic activities mainly focused in patients with Becker Muscular Dystrophy. The JWMDRC has a long tradition of excellence in research, diagnosis and management of neuromuscular diseases. The post will provide an opportunity for the you to gain experience in the diagnosis and management of patients with Becker Muscular Dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders, but also to plan and deliver research both at the preclinical and clinical level.

You will hold an MB BS (Medical Doctor) or equivalent from recognised medical school, GMC licence to practise and experience in medical history taking, patient assessment and medical record keeping in accordance with GCP guidelines. You will play a key role in conducting new clinical trials acting as sub-investigator to deliver GCP compliant clinical trials and natural history studies in patients with Becker Muscular Dystrophy within the Research Centre.

You will have the opportunity to learn about clinical trial design, outcome measures, regulatory requirements and ethical issues in conducting clinical research in rare diseases and to develop knowledge and competence to conduct GCP compliant clinical research. In addition, you will be able to participate in a range of different neuromuscular clinics across the North of England, including Becker and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy but also other genetic neuromuscular diseases and gain exposure to state-of-the-art diagnostics for neuromuscular diseases and genetic diseases in general, as well as updated management of these cohorts of patients. You will also participate in the analysis of clinical and muscle function data of the large cohort of patients followed up in the centre.

You will be instrumental in the development and operation of the BMD-Hub, helping to establish a national network for BMD in the UK and facilitating fair recruitment to clinical trials in the UK and will also support the conduct of clinical research at the JWMDRC, focused on Becker Muscular Dystrophy, including selection of patients, consenting, and recruitment, delivery of study visits and procedures and safety monitoring. For clinical research led by JWMDRC, you will be involved in the development of study documents and will participate in the study discussions with partners and sponsors. As part of this role you will also attend paediatric and adult outpatient clinics for patients with rare neuromuscular diseases and will be involved in multi-disciplinary clinics and discussions within the JWMDRC team as well as other specialities involved in the patient management (cardiology, respiratory physicians, orthopaedics etc).

This post is a part time post 0.4 FTE Tenable for 9 months.

For further information on the centre John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre – John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (newcastle-muscle.org)

For any queries, please contact Emma.Heslop@ncl.ac.uk or Michela.Guglieri@ncl.ac.uk