Clinical Research Fellow, Infant Research Centre

18 Months, Fixed-Term, Whole-Time Post 

Position Summary

The INFANT Research Centre was established in 2013 and is dedicated to maternal and child health research. The overarching vision of INFANT is to advance maternal and child health translational research and to place Ireland to the forefront of this field. INFANT is hosted by University College Cork (UCC) and is focused on delivering scientific excellence and impact through a range of activities in academic, translational, and commercial areas. The INFANT team is a diverse group of clinicians and scientists who are supported by selected industry partners, international collaborators and business and regulatory advisors. The Centre is funded by a range of national and international funding agencies, EU, industry, and philanthropy. INFANT has a well-established Clinical Trials Platform which is underpinned by ISO 9001:2015 accredited Quality Management System.

The INFANT Centre leads the ELEVATE Programme for Programme for Prediction, Early Detection & Intervention in Cerebral Palsy. This 5-year programme is focused on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of brain injury and cerebral palsy (CP) in infants during the period of maximum neuroplasticity (up to 2 years of age).

The ELEVATE Programme has been jointly funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation through the SFI Strategic Partnership Programme.

ELEVATE brings together researchers in research centres and tertiary level maternity hospitals across Ireland as well as three academic centres: University College Cork (UCC), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Our vision is to work with the Irish Cerebral Palsy community to create a world-leading hub for research and innovation in the field of early brain injury and Cerebral Palsy. The ELEVATE programme, which comprises 4 key research pillars, aims to identify risk factors of Cerebral Palsy early, to prevent Cerebral Palsy, and to reduce the severity of the condition when it does occur. By targeting the earliest possible interventions and proactively preventing complications, the programme will optimise the health of children with Cerebral Palsy and improve their ability to participate in everyday life.

INFANT is now accepting applications for Clinical Research Fellow to support the work of pillar 2 of the ELEVATE programme – Enhance the early detection of motor, cognitive and executive function in infants who have an elevated risk of cerebral palsy, to support targeted interventions.

Specifically, the Clinical Research Fellow’s work will focus on the trajectories of cognitive dysfunction in children at elevated risk for Cerebral Palsy. The Clinical Research Fellow will be responsible for recruiting high risk infants and healthy controls and will work within the ELEVATE team to develop and administer novel longitudinal outcome assessments in young infants from 3-4 months up to 24 months recruited to the study. The Clinical Research Fellow will be required to have significant experience in paediatrics and in clinical research and a desire to pursue a higher degree in the field of Paediatrics.

Project Title: Elevate

Post Duration: 18 Months

Salary: €62,698 - €68,318 p.a. (IUA Research Fellow scale)

For an information package including further details of the post see https://ore.ucc.ie/.

Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to: Prof Deirdre Murray, email: [email protected]

Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/). Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to [email protected], quoting the job-title and project name.

Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Thursday, 23rd of May, 2024.

No late applications will be accepted.

Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector.

UCC is committed to creating and fully embracing an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated.  As a University we strive to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our student population where people from a wide variety of backgrounds learn from one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively. UCC is committed to being an employer that recognises the value of diversity amongst its staff.  We encourage applicants to consult our policies at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/policies/ and initiatives at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/implementation/ and we welcome applications from everyone, including those who are underrepresented in the protected characteristics set out in our Equal Opportunities & Diversity Policy. 

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER