Job Offer: Research Associate in Liver Cancer Biomarkers and Target Discovery

Salary: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University offers an excellent work environment with a range of benefits. Employees can enjoy a generous holiday package, pension schemes, and a variety of health and wellbeing initiatives.

Closing Date: 23 June 2024

The Role

We are looking for a dynamic and ambitious researcher to join our team at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute. You will contribute to an exciting project aimed at addressing the growing incidence and mortality of liver cancer. Current therapies include surgery, locoregional treatments, and medical therapies, but elderly patients with co-morbidities often have variable responses, impacting survival rates. Our observational trial, HUNTER, funded by Cancer Research UK, has collected clinical data and samples from over 1000 patients across multiple treatment lines. The datasets generated include genomic DNA, serum proteomics, PBMCs RNAseq, WSI, immunohistochemistry, and hyperion mass spectrometry of biopsy tissues.

The role involves maintaining and developing these datasets further as patient enrolment and data generation continue. Responsibilities include managing the REDCap database of patient data, developing a secure research environment for data sharing, and creating an R Shiny interactive web application for visualization and analysis.

The Research Associate will apply bioinformatic analyses to these datasets to identify predictive biomarkers and build computational models to inform novel therapeutic strategies. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team at the Paul O’Gorman Building within Newcastle University Centre for Cancer.

This full-time position is fixed-term until 31st March 2028. If successful, an NHS Honorary Contract will be required.

Informal enquiries: Helen Reeves at [email protected]

For more information about our research:

Key Accountabilities

• Contributing ideas and enhancements to study methodologies
• Developing and executing the project using appropriate techniques
• Determining research methodologies with required support
• Contributing to grant applications and developing own research proposals
• Writing proposals for individual research funding
• Assessing research findings for further investigations
• Contributing to research publication and dissemination
• Presenting research findings at conferences or through reputable publications
• Providing support to undergraduate and postgraduate research students
• Interacting intellectually with other academic members of the Institute
• Contributing to public engagement events
• Developing an awareness of University structures, policies, and procedures
• Supporting quality assurance processes
• Preparing reports and figures for academic publications and grant proposals
• Maintaining safe and compliant working environments
• Overseeing compliance tasks
• Scheduling, prioritizing, and monitoring work
• Organizing and facilitating progress meetings
• Supporting change and identifying training needs
• Ensuring safe and secure data storage
• Maintaining shareable version-controlled code and notebooks
• Overseeing the HUNTER REDCap database
• Developing an R Shiny website for data visualization
• Combining bioinformatic analysis and computational modeling

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Preferred Skills

• Team collaboration and rapid skill acquisition
• Knowledge of liver cancer staging and treatments
• Understanding of metabolic syndrome
• Experience with clinical trial data and database management
• Handling large bioinformatic datasets
• RNAseq and gene expression analysis expertise
• Lab experience or understanding of laboratory techniques <