RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM - Jobs - … · Web viewMain Responsibilities % time per year 1. Contribute to research projects concerned with tinnitus etiology and management Keep

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAMRECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM

Job Title: Research Fellow in Tinnitus (part time, fixed term)

School/Department: School of Medicine - Division of Clinical Neuroscience in association with the National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit (NHBRU)

Salary: £28,695 to £37,394 (pro rata) depending on skills and experience. Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance

Job family & level: Research and Teaching Level 4

Contract Status: This post is available from 1 May 2015 and will be offered on a fixed-term basis until 31 March 2017.

Hours of Work: Part time, 14.5 hours per week

Location: Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham, NG1 5DU

Reporting to: Director NHBRU and Research Lead Tinnitus etiology and management

The Purpose of the Role:

The successful candidate will join a multi-disciplinary research team whose role is to create new knowledge that can underpin evidence-based practice for people with tinnitus.

The main project will lead the first step in developing standardised outcomes for evaluating tinnitus in clinical trials, using a range of methods including systematic review, focus groups, interviewing and Delphi survey, as appropriate. This is an important study with potential for major international input.

The role holder will be involved with a European network of clinical and academic experts in tinnitus who are funded through the EU COST Action programme until 2018. The candidate also has the potential to involve patients in the research and also to become involved in other aspects of the BRU research team’s work, particularly with respect to trials of the audiological management of tinnitus.

The candidate will be involved in all aspects of research including development, design, implementation and dissemination of research findings.

Main Responsibilities % time per year

1. Contribute to research projects concerned with tinnitus etiology and 80%

management- Keep abreast of the relevant literature and critically review the

literature relating to the research area.- Contribute to design and implementation of data collection instruments

including on-line surveys.- Develop and maintain secure databases.- Contribute to the quantitative and qualitative analyses of research data.- Support the development of proposals for future studies including

applications for external funding.- Support the submission of applications for ethical and research and

development approval.- Contribute to the supervision of research assistants and postgraduate

students.

2. Contribute to the dissemination of research outputs- Prepare and deliver oral presentations and posters reporting research

results within or outside NHBRU and associated partner establishments, including national and international conferences as appropriate.

- Publish in appropriate peer-reviewed academic journals commensurate with the stage of career.

10%

3. Contribute to NHBRU activities- Maintain effective communication with all colleagues within NHBRU and

partner collaborators.- Work with the lead researcher, senior research fellow and the rest of

the team to enable the effective coordination and running of the research.

- Work co-operatively as part of an interdisciplinary team, liaising with Nottingham Audiology Services and other audiology centres as appropriate.

- Contribute to activities to raise public awareness of NHBRU research.- Contribute to research activities directly involving patients and the

public.- Any other duties appropriate to the grade and role of the person

appointed.

10%

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Essential Desirable

Qualifications/ Education

PhD or equivalent in a relevant scientific discipline. In the absence of a PhD, a strong degree of relevant experience in the research area will be considered.

Knowledge of relevant clinical practice in deafness and hearing problems.

Formal training in empirical research.

Skills/TrainingTraining and skills in quantitative or qualitative research methods.

Excellent working knowledge of relevant IT operating systems and software packages (including

Training and skills in experimental design, including behavioural measures of performance.

Windows and Microsoft Office).

Good working knowledge of how to implement statistical software to analyse and interpret experimental data.

Excellent communication skills demonstrating an ability to communicate on all levels across many areas.

Project management skills, demonstrating attention to detail, excellent organisation and planning.

Good data management and database skills.

Experience Research experience in human behavioural studies. Experience should cover study design, planning, development of imaging protocols, data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Experience of working in a team.

Substantial scientific contribution to manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Experience of giving presentations.

Developing a recognised national reputation in a relevant field e.g. through invited presentations, journal and grant reviewing, committee membership on national bodies, authorship of magazine articles, book chapters etc.

Experience of tinnitus and/or audiological management strategies.

Publication of research findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Presentations at national and international conferences.

Record of a contribution to successful grant capture.

Experience of supervising and training junior research staff, including students.

Good working knowledge of ethical conduct in research and involvement in submissions for ethical and R&D approval.

Media experience.Knowledge of current issues in the NHS, service provision and development.

Statutory/Legal Eligible to apply for relevant research clearances that may be required including a check with the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Personal Attributes

Good interpersonal skills with colleagues and members of the public.

Broad interest in hearing-related problems, tinnitus, cognition or ageing.

Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Ability to work successfully in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary team.

Ability to make judgements involving complex facts that require evaluation and interpretation.

Time management skills, demonstrating an ability to prioritise and deal with multiple demands.

People management skills.

Ability to use initiative and creativity to identify and expand the research programme.

Other Must be willing to travel between sites in Nottingham.

Decision Making

i) Taken independently by the role holder; Direction of the research on a day-to-day basis Plan and prioritise own workload, formulate and adjust plans as required Calibration, maintenance and repair of equipment Advice on consumable and small-scale purchasing Perform appropriate analyses of research data using relevant software packages and interpret

findings

ii) Taken in collaboration with others; Day-to-day processes and procedures, including quality assurance measures, data storage

and archiving protocol Develop research protocols and manuscripts Patient and public involvement in the research Methods concerning data collection and analysis Participation in conferences and training courses Proposals and applications for grant funding Individual short-term requests to administrative staff Research activities undertaken by students or collaborators Evaluation of and decisions about purchasing new equipment and research resources

iii) Referred to the appropriate line manager by the role holder; Major publication decisions concerning conference abstracts, journal articles, book chapters etc Longer-term project management and appropriate working methods Development of research instruments Development of proposals to extend specific research projects Research strategy of the specific research area Strategy for longer-term research portfolio of the BRU Purchase decisions >£500

Additional InformationIn 2008, the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) established 16 Biomedical Research Units (BRUs) to improve the pathway of translating basic research findings into clinical benefit. The BRU in Deafness and Hearing Problems has since established itself as a flagship research unit addressing major clinical issues in the ENT and audiological management of hearing loss and tinnitus. Our key partners are the University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and the MRC Institute of Hearing Research. Nottingham has a long established critical mass of staff working in fundamental hearing research, translational hearing research, ENT and Audiology, with the UK’s largest programme in cochlear implantation. We have strong collaborative links across this partnership. The BRU tinnitus team also has excellent relations with industry and with other NIHR organisations and in the past year we have attracted over £2 million in external funding.

In August 2011, NIHR awarded the BRU in Deafness and Hearing Problems a further £6.25 million to develop and expand our research portfolio through to March 2017. Research areas take advantage of exciting new scientific opportunities and closer alignment to the research strengths of the partnership enhances collaborative possibilities. Five primary research areas (Tinnitus etiology and management, Habilitation for hearing loss, Sensorineural plasticity and rehabilitation, Cochlear implantation, and Paediatric ENT/Audiology) are underpinned by methodology-based research (Large-scale studies, Advanced imaging), and also by patient involvement and technology-based tools. As part of our expansion, we are committed to developing the next generation of researchers with NIHR funding for PhD students, research fellows and clinical secondments.

We are one of the UK’s largest and most productive research groups in tinnitus, collaborating with researchers and clinicians across the UK and world-wide.

Our vision is to make sure that the NHS provides the best, most innovative and most effective hearing healthcare for people of all ages (from babies to the elderly).

Projects will be led by Prof Deb Hall (Director of NHBRU). Deb is an internationally recognised hearing scientist with a track record of publications on tinnitus and works closely with one of the main UK organisations representing the Audiology profession, The British Society for Audiology, and the British Tinnitus Association.

Background to the research project:

TINNET COST Action BM1306: an international standard for outcome measurements in clinical trials of tinnitus

Deborah Hall (Working Group chair), Alain Londero (Working Group co-chair), Winifred Schlee (Action Chair)

Over 70 million people in Europe experience tinnitus, for 7 million it creates a debilitating condition. In spite of its enormous socioeconomic relevance, research funding is somewhat limited. The European Union has approved funding for a COST Action TINNET (2014-2018) to create a pan-European tinnitus research network. One of the Working Groups will address outcome measurement; building upon the 2006 consensus meeting organised by the Tinnitus Research Initiative (Langguth et al., 2007). This Working Group seeks to embrace inclusivity and brings together clinicians, experts on clinical research methodology, statisticians, and representatives of the health industry. The primary objective is to establish an international standard for outcome measurements in clinical trials of tinnitus.

The first steps towards the objective is to complete a systematic review of outcome instruments that have been used so far in tinnitus trials and to pool these findings with what outcome domains patients report as being important for them. This information will drive a project to determine a consensus about appropriate and relevant outcome domains, using Delphi survey methodology. Our approach is informed by pioneering work conducted by the HOME initiative.

Once our methodology is confirmed we will register our work on the COMET database (http://www.comet-initiative.org/). Furthermore, by working with the COST Action Clinical and Database Working Groups we can achieve standards for outcome measurement both in clinical trials and in clinical routine and support data collection of treatment results in a centralised database.

ReferencesLangguth, B. Goodey, R. Azevedo, A. et al. (2007) Consensus for tinnitus patient assessment and treatment outcome measurement: Tinnitus Research Initiative meeting, Regensburg, July 2006. Progress in Brain Research, 166: 525-536.HOME initiative: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/homeforeczema/about/about.aspx

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof Deb Hall, Research Lead for the Tinnitus etiology and management Research area, NHBRU, tel: +44 (0) 115 823 2600 or email: [email protected] Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

Please quote ref. MED084915 Closing date

The University of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a global-leading, research-intensive university with campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China. Our reputation for world-class research has yielded major scientific breakthroughs such as Nobel-winning MRI techniques, drug discovery, food technologies and engineering solutions for future economic, social and cultural progress.

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