Salary: £34,866 - £45,163 per annum (pro rata)

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 12 December 2024

The Role

This position is for a Research Associate on an international collaborative project - Evaluating the delivery of whole exome sequencing for patients with muscle diseases in Latin America. Learning from collaborative experiences (Latin SEQ+).

Your role will be to undertake, transcribe, translate and co-analyse online semi-structured interviews in Spanish/Portuguese with patients and families from Latin American countries who have received a genetic test result for muscle disease.

You will explore how the genetic test result has made a difference to their lives. Indicative themes to explore may be how it has changed treatment or care; what, if any, prenatal options are available; what does the result mean for other family members; how has this been communicated to them and how have they reacted to the diagnosis.

This is a unique opportunity to be involved in a project to give feedback to our Latin American partners on their emerging genetics services and to learn transferable lessons from their experience to benefit mainstream delivery of genetic testing in the UK.

The Project Aims To Critically Explore How Genetic Counselling Is Delivered In Latin American Countries Where There Is Limited Or No Genetic Counselling Resource. The Study Objectives Are

• To critically explore the experiences of Health Care Professionals giving a diagnosis and patients’ and families experiences of receiving a genetic diagnosis
• To understand how, and if, any changes are made to patients’ care depending on the outcome of Whole Exome Sequencing (explanatory variant found, no variant found, variant of uncertain significance found)
• To identify, describe and understand how genetic information is communicated within families
• To understand culturally specific influences on delivering and receiving diagnoses via Whole Exome Sequencing
  
  

The study outputs will develop educational input and resource; share findings with partners to grow their genetics services and improve patient outcomes; highlight areas of good practice as measured against UK standards and share findings with Health Education England and Genomics England to inform UK service development. The project will generate new knowledge about delivering effective Genetic Counselling to improve patient outcomes in partner countries and the UK.

This post is part time 50% FTE (18.5 hours per week), fixed term for a period of 14 months and will require some flexibility to work in Latin America.

For informal enquiries contact: Dr Lorraine Cowley or

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/

Key Accountabilities

• Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial 'added value'
• Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding
• Begin to write, with appropriate support, proposals for individual research funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants
• Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute.
• May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment
• Assist in negotiating ethical approval amendments to interview patients and family members where needed
  
  

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Fluent Spanish Speaker
• Detailed subject knowledge in qualitative interview methods. Psycho-social implications of genetic testing for patients and their families
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capability
• Collaborative working across international borders
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others
• Experience of research with clear transferable skills and some experience or awareness of the research environment
• Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications
• Portuguese speaker or willingness to learn (Desirable)
  
  

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work well, both, independently and as part of a team
• Good communicator
• Collaborative and collegiate
• Ability to rapidly acquire new skills
  
  

Qualifications

• A PhD in the research area required using qualitative interview method
  
  

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 27790