Research Assistant - GEN2020 in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Job id: 082345. Salary: £37,332 - £42,099 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 12 January 2024. Closing date: 11 February 2024.

Business unit: IoPPN. Department: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Contact details:Dr Jonathan Downs. [email protected]

Location: Denmark Hill Campus. Category: Research.

Generation 2020 study

The post holder will work in the School of Academic Psychiatry (SoAP),  Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) on an exciting new study called Generation 2020.  The purpose of this post to develop digital products which will improve track developmental milestones (e.g. motor, cognitive, social and emotional) to reporting to and work closely together with the project Clinical Lead (Prof McAlonan) and the team of investigators. Brain Health in Gen 2020 is an exciting new prospective, multimillion pound longitudinal study aiming to assess how the prenatal mother-baby environment, including exposures such as maternal Covid 19, impacts upon early brain development and later childhood outcomes.  It is unique for its interdisciplinary nature, combining expertise from clinical psychiatry, psychology, paediatrics, brain imaging, immunology, and neuroscience; and for its multiscale approach, spanning in-depth brain investigation in small cohorts through to large-scale population measures. The postholder will have a pivotal role in design activities within digital development workstream, but also we across 5 clinical work-streams and facilitating the cutting-edge science embarked upon to improve childhood outcomes. They will also contribute to a productive, friendly and supportive culture within the programme and work closely with the digital development lead (Dr Johnny Downs) and CAMHS Digital Lab lead designer, Mr Stephen Douch,) to ensure co-design activities are tightly coordinated with the preclinical workstreams of the programme hosted at the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Early in the pandemic we identified a need to understand what, if anything, fetal exposure to maternal infection does to brain development. COVID-19 presented an opportunity, indeed a responsibility, to address this question. We therefore used MRI to begin a study of brain development in fetuses and newborns who were in the womb during the pandemic. Brain Health in Gen 2020 allows us to continue this work, to carry out in-depth analyses of this unique dataset and follow-up these children as they enter primary education. It also means we can expand our original sample to capture the likely wide range of outcomes of children who were in utero during the pandemic, both in-depth and at population level.

The Role

The post holder will help identify the best features for a parent-facing digital app system; explore and define ideal user facing designs that integrate multi-modal measures (including self-reported questionnaires, video and audio material) within existing engineering and budgetary constraints. They will work alongside experts by experience, caregivers, health visitors researchers, engineers, clinicians, teachers and data-scientists to try and create the most user-friendly developmental monitoring system in the NHS.

The post holder’s contribution to the GEN2020 project will be at a practical and advisory level throughout. Their work and research will combine a design ethnography approach, incorporating interviews with multiple stakeholders. They will conduct local site visits, design audits, co-creation workshops and other events. They will be instrumental in supporting ongoing design concepts coming from the GEN2020 project.

This post will be offered on  a fixed-term contract for 1 year.

• Using qualitative research methods, to co-facilitate workshops and interviews with multiple stakeholders, including; recruited families, academics, clinicians and educational professionals; to gather insights and data, through inclusive design methodology and co-creation techniques
• To co-design with stakeholders adapted digital app prototypes – primarily mobile orientate -  informed by established theoretical models of co-design and user engagement and translate designs into a prototype interfaces – based on co-created and inclusive design concepts.
• To work with the GEN2020 – supporting commercial/health partners throughout the process to help ensure that the new prototype designs conform to constraints of the technical components, and retain the build complexity and materials within a manufacturing cost cap.
• Illustrate design ideas using storyboards, process flows and sitemaps
• Design graphic user interface elements, like menus, tabs and widgets
• Develop UI mockups and prototypes, or reworking existing prototypes or currently available products; with a view to formulating designs that aim to reduce stigma and improve usability; to refine and  finesse existing products supporting and evaluation their implementation into health visitor pathways.
• Iterating from low fi prototypes to useable digital prototypes
• Developing user personas and scenarios
• Develop information architecture deliverables (site maps, taxonomies, flow diagrams etc)
• Create original graphic designs (e.g. images, sketches and tables)
• Prepare and present rough drafts to internal teams and key stakeholders
• Identify and troubleshoot UX problems (e.g. responsiveness)
• Maintain attention to detail across all UX deliverables and specification, and ensure all design work is thoroughly documented for handover to developer/engineer teams
• Collaborate with the CAMHD Digital Design Lead to help solve complex design and product problem

Essential criteria (Applications must also include a portfolio link)

1.       Upper second class BA/BSc degree, or above, in Design, Computer Science or  related qualification

2.       Robust understanding of user-centred and inclusive design principles and usability best practices

3.       User engagement and workshop facilitation skills

4.       Understanding of ethical approaches (e.g. communication and engagement skills)

5.       Experience in Developing UI mockups, wireframes, prototypes and developing user-testing frameworks

6.       Highly familiar with developing products to accessibility standards (WCAG)

7.       Skilled using Figma and using styles, components, auto-layout features and the pros/drawbacks in their application.

8.       Ability to communicate with relevant stakeholders in the process (from user to manufacturer)

9.       Self-starter with ability to work both in a team and autonomously

10.     A willingness to act under direction in a responsible and self-motivated way

11.     Excellent written and visual communication skills

12.     Excellent research analysis skills, able to manage qualitative data and draw out user insights

Desirable criteria

1.       Good understanding of HTML and CSS fundamentals to allow for effective collaboration with the design and development teams

2.       Prior experience of designing within healthcare settings

Applications must also include a portfolio link.

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service clearance.