Postdoctoral Researcher: Prescribing and Medicines Optimisation

15 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

RCSI - Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Department

Human Resources

Research Field

Pharmacological sciences » Pharmacy

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Ireland

Application Deadline

3 Mar 2024 - 23:45 (Europe/Dublin)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

39

Offer Starting Date

1 Apr 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Job Title: Postdoctoral Researcher: Prescribing and Medicines Optimisation
Department: School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
Reporting to: Dr Frank Moriarty
Location: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin 2
Contract/Duration: Up to 5 years (depending on start date)
Remuneration: €50,540 per year (IUA Scale PD2 Pt 1 - annual increments will apply)
Closing Date: March 3rd 2024
Starting Date: As soon as possible

Summary of Post
The SYNERG-IE Programme is an ambitious five-year programme supported by a €2.5m Applied Programme Grant (APRO) award from the Health Research Board in Ireland. Projects funded under this programme are designed to have an impact on the health and social care of individuals, population health, and the health system in Ireland and beyond.

SYNERG-IE is a multidisciplinary research programme designed in partnership with Sjögren’s Ireland that aims to address longstanding challenges in the recognition, diagnosis, and management of Sjögren's (pronounced ‘show-grins’). Sjögren’s is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1 in 200 people that is associated with significant morbidity affecting quality of life. Although relatively common, its complexity means that early signs and symptoms are often missed, leading to delays in diagnosis of ten years or longer for many people.

This programme will adopt a collaborative and inclusive approach, combining the skills of multidisciplinary researchers, the insights of patients, and the needs of healthcare professionals and policymakers to bring about transformative change in Sjögren's care and research. Through involving people living with Sjögren’s and healthcare professionals, the research will reflect the real-world experiences of Sjögren’s and the findings will have maximum impact, leading to tangible improvements in care.

The SYNERG-IE Programme aims to make a difference to the lives of people affected by Sjögren's in many ways. By optimising prescribing practices and medicines use, people will experience more personalised and effective treatments. Co-design approaches will be used to develop improved care pathways to enhance care experiences. National guidance and policies will provide a clear framework for care, reducing the current delays in diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, the increased knowledge stemming from undergraduate and postgraduate education initiatives will improve awareness.

We want to recruit a postdoctoral researcher who will primarily focus on research relating to prescribing and medicines optimisation to enhance Sjögren’s care. This will involve analysis of primary care patient record data from the UK (to examine care and prescribing both before and after individuals are diagnosed with Sjögren’s), collection and analysis of survey data in Ireland, including data on medications used, and contributions to other areas of the programme.

Specifically, the duties of the post will be:

• Lead quantitative epidemiological analysis of patient record data/survey data with a focus on medications, and contribute to analysis and evidence synthesis across other studies within the programme.
• Collate, clean and manage study data according to best practices, including developing and updating a programme data management plan and preparing data for archiving.
• Develop study protocol(s) for pre-registration and study approval.
• Write-up of results and preparation of reports for funder requirements and for dissemination to key stakeholders and via peer-reviewed journals.
• Contribute to the supervision of undergraduate and/or postgraduate students that may be working on the programme.
• Participate in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and engagement/outreach activities.
• Perform any additional tasks as may be required.

Requirements

Research Field

Pharmacological sciences » Pharmacy

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Qualifications – (Essential):

• PhD in a relevant field (e.g. epidemiology, health services research, population health, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacy, health informatics, biostatistics).

Knowledge & Experience – (Essential):

• Evidence of success with writing for publication in health services research or other relevant field(s), reflected in authorship of peer-reviewed papers or reports.
• Strong quantitative data analysis skills; experience of various statistical methods/approaches, and statistical software packages such as Stata or R.
• Experience working with large and complex data sources, such as patient record data.
• Experience communicating research to academic, policy-maker and/or lay audiences.

Knowledge & Experience – (Desirable):

• Experience of quantitative research relating to pharmacoepidemiology or medicines more generally.
• Knowledge and experience of open research principles and practices.
• Experience in evidence synthesis i.e. conducting and publishing systematic reviews, scoping reviews etc.
• Experience working on projects with multiple stakeholders.
• A capacity to work collaboratively as part of a team as well as independently, in a non-structured environment.

We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application — we’d love to hear from you.

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Pharmacological sciences » Pharmacy

Years of Research Experience

4 - 10

Additional Information
Benefits

Employee Benefits

RCSI make sure you have the resources you need to thrive by offering a wide range of benefits in areas including time away, finance, community, health, and well-being and insuring your financial future. Below are some additional benefits available to you as an RCSI employee:

• Minimum of 20 days annual leave, plus an additional 6.5 Privilege days
• Flexible/hybrid working options for colleagues across many roles
• Additional leave options incl. paid maternity leave, paternity/parental leave, study leave
• 7% Employer pension contribution
• Onsite gym €10 per/mth incl. classes and PT sessions
• Childcare support 20% discount at Giraffe
• Free eye test and annual flu vaccination
• TaxSaver commuter tickets and Bike to Work schemes
• A site sustainability team focusing on the environmental initiatives;Green Campus Initiative ’
• Competitively priced café and restaurant
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion forums, and network groups
• Employee assistance programme with Spectrum Life
• Learning and Development training programmes incl. LinkedIn Learning for career progression
• Discounted services incl. GP visits, 10% off dental, staff parking, mobile tariffs, Group Scheme discount on numerous brands
• Sports and social club incl. yoga, Pilates, fitness classes, Zumba, running club, social evenings, Summer BBQ
• Ticket Draws for events including; Rugby, Taste of Dublin, Dublin Horse Show, theatre, music & comedy events

Additional comments

Application Process

Please apply online through the RCSI careers portal on the closing date with your CV and cover letter.

Informal Enquiries can be directed to [email protected] . Please note we do not accept CVs directly.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Country

Ireland

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://bit.ly/48gy8O6

Contact

City

Dublin

Website

http://www.rcsi.ie/careers

Street

121/122 St. Stephen's Green

STATUS: EXPIRED