Job Description
Job Title:
Research Associate (SM034-17BR)
Section:
NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational
Research Centre (NIHR Imperial PSTRC)
Institute:
Institute of Global Health Innovation
Academic & Research, Level B
Job Family/Level:
Salary Range:
£36,070 – £40,030 per annum
Location:
St Mary’s Campus in Paddington, Charing Cross in
Hammersmith or Dorset Rise (depending on
project)
Reporting to:
Academic leads in research themes
Working closely with:
Other academic members, research associates,
PhD students (including Clinical Research Fellows),
support staff within both Centres and translational
partners (i.e. charities, health and care providers,
other academic institutions, and potentially
overseas partners etc.) in the Institute of Global
Health Innovation, as well as other associated
Departments and Centres at Imperial College
London and abroad
Contract
Full time, for a fixed term of 24 months, ideally
starting from 1 August 2017
Summary of Posts
Applications are invited for 6 Research Associate posts to work across six diverse
research themes in the NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre
(NIHR Imperial PSTRC), aligned to the Institute of Global Health Innovation at
Imperial College London. Research themes include the economic implications of
patient safety, improving diagnostic decision-making, identifying and preventing the
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deterioration of high-risk patients, improving the safety of handovers and other
transitions of care, improving the culture of safety and the organisational resilience of
providers, developing and evaluating the effectiveness of digital interventions (in
partnership with patients) for safer care, and medication safety.
The Centre
The NIHR Imperial PSTRC focuses exclusively on translational research in patient
safety. Our ambition is to improve the safety and quality of care received by patients
in the NHS, through innovations which are underpinned by world-class science. As
such, our focus is as much on generating high-impact publications as it is on
ensuring that patients, their families and citizens tangibly benefit from our work.
The Centre, funded by the NIHR, brings together multidisciplinary communities of
clinicians, social scientists including psychologists, economists, designers, human
factor specialists, computer scientists and etc. to work on the development and
translation of innovations and practices for the improvement of patient safety and
quality. Areas of application span from helping individuals and organisation become
more resilient and adaptive in the wake of increasingly complex care, to developing
ways to utilise advances in mobile and digital technologies and sensors to track and
identify deteriorating patients, to understanding the whole-system cost of unsafe
care. Projects vary in size, length and focus, but all strongly feature an element of
translation and potentially further scale-up.
The NIHR Imperial PSTRC, now in its second cycle of funding, was founded in 2007
(with £4.5 million in the first funding cycle). It was renewed in 2012 (second and
current funding cycle; total of £7.2 million in funding) and is presently one of two such
entities in the English NHS. In 2017, the Centre was successfully renewed for £7.3
million, marking what will be 15 years of focused translational research in patient
safety by 2022 (end of the third and upcoming cycle of funding). In terms of impact,
from 2005-2016, the Centre has had a stellar record of high-impact publications,
including:
● 807 total publications
● 46 publications in journals with Impact Factor* ≥10
● 172 publications in journals with Impact Factor* ≥5
● 19,421 total number of citations
*2016 Scopus Impact Factor
Aside from publication, in the past 10 years, some notable innovations that have
come of out of Centre includes:
● Contributing to the development of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and
the first evaluation of the implementation of the Checklist in the NHS.
● HARK, a digital clinical task management and prioritisation platform, which
was acquired by Google DeepMind.
It’s Director, Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, has a long-standing track record in patient
safety, global health and health policy.
The Centre will be focal points for new and existing activities across Imperial College
London, including collaborations with the IGHI, CRUK, BRC, EPSRC Centre for
Mathematics in Precision Medicine, and NHS Hospitals and Trusts.
To understand more about the NIHR Imperial PSTRC, please see here.
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This initial tranche of positions consists of 6 Research Associate posts. Following
the initial tranche of appointments, the Centre will seed further projects in
collaboration with industry, healthcare NHS entities, charities and other partners.
PhD students will also be appointed within both Centres (separate Job Description).
Research Areas
In the first instance, the research areas are as listed below. Please note that projects
are currently being defined and the below is a general representation. Interested
applicants are encouraged to seek more information through the website. Informal,
exploratory chats can also be scheduled. Please:
Email the theme leads (email links below), for queries regarding the research topic,
the projects and methodology.
Email the Centre Manager, Ms Angela Yu ([email protected]), for general
queries regarding the Centre and the hiring process.
Theme 1 – Safer systems across the continuum of care
The theme, lead by Professor the Lord Ara Darzi and supported Ms Sonal Arora
(please email Ms Arora for queries regarding the theme’s research at
[email protected]). The theme aims to create safer systems for patients
as they move along their care pathways, thereby reducing error and enhancing
quality. It will firstly seek to identify the patient safety problems across the continuum
of care, and then develop and evaluate robust interventions for enhancing safety in
the wider system. Finally, it will explore how best to promote the diffusion of
innovation. Examples of initial projects (in the first 2 years, not exhaustive) include:
● Map the volume and significant risks to patients across a sample of patient
pathways
● Using behavioural insights and data-sharing to improve transitions across
settings of care
● Design interventions to reduce clinician burnout and improve individual
resilience
The theme is hiring a total of 2 posts.
Theme 2 – Partnering with patients for safer care
The theme, led by Mr Erik Mayer ([email protected]), aims to create practical
and actionable solutions for addressing priorities in patient empowerment and
engagement in safety, and generate high-quality evidence for implementation and
diffusion of practical and sustainable patient engagement initiatives. Ultimately, we
aim to support more active, and safe, involvement of patients in their own care.
Examples of initial projects (in the first 2 years, not exhaustive) include:
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Understanding attributes and circumstances influencing true patient activation
and involvement in their care
Developing a novel digital learning and social network platform to promote
health literacy in the self-management of patients’ own conditions
Evaluating strategies and various interventions to partner with patients for
safer care, including for example, projects to patient-led reporting, etc.
The theme is hiring a total of 1 post.
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Theme 3 – Avoiding deterioration and delays in the care of patients with
complex needs
It is estimated that between 65-95% of medical errors are due to an action not being
taken or being delayed. The theme, led by Professor Paul Aylin
([email protected]), aims to develop and implement solutions to identify
deteriorating patients and ensure timely and appropriate clinical response by applying
new methods to collect clinical information (e.g. sensors, wearable technology) and to
analyse data (including artificial intelligence). Examples of initial projects (in the first 2
years, not exhaustive) include:
● Examining potential indicators of omission and delay using the Clinical
Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) to highlight failure points
● Soliciting the views of primary care health professionals on the usefulness of
reminders in electronic patient records and using databases
● Consulting mental health patients on key safety issues associated with
deteriorating function.
The theme is hiring a total of 1 post.
Theme 4 – Enhancing the safety of medication and technology
The theme, led by Professor Bryony Dean Franklin, aims to build on existing
knowledge about medication error and its implications for antimicrobial resistance
(AMR) and create new evidence on the potential risks engendered by technology. It
will develop solutions to both issues by leveraging technology, design, behavioural
sciences and human factors. Examples of initial projects (in the first 2 years, not
exhaustive) include:
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Optimising the use of hospital electronic patient records
Understanding and influencing macro-level demand for antibiotics
Understanding the unintended consequences of technology in both hospital
and community settings
The theme is not hiring any posts, and information regarding the theme’s research
has been provided to help candidates gain a complete picture of the Centre’s
footprint.
Theme 5 – Improving diagnostic accuracy and decision-making
The theme, led by Professor Brendan Delaney ([email protected]),
aims to tackle the challenges related to diagnosis and decision-making in primary
care and in peri-operative situations. Translational solutions will harness the scientific
and technological capabilities of our team to support decision-making. Examples of
initial projects (in the first 2 years, not exhaustive) include:
● Identifying determinants of diagnostic accuracy and designing systems to
support diagnosis
● Improving the use of antibiotics in primary care by incorporating clinical risk
scores into the consultation
The theme is hiring a total of 1 post.
Theme 6 – Ensuring value for money in patient safety
The theme, led by Professor Elias Mossialos and supported by Dr Joachim Marti
(please contact Joachim for queries related to the research in the theme,
[email protected]), aims to better understand the wider economic burden of
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avoidable harm and generate evidence on the cost-effectiveness of safety-related
initiatives to inform policy, improve efficiency, and incentivise safer, high-value care. It
will work in close collaboration with other themes to test the cost-effectiveness of the
developed solutions. Examples of initial projects (in the first 2 years, not exhaustive)
include:
● Understanding the economic case for patient safety initiatives (via metaanalysis, analysis of large datasets, and primary data collection)
● Applying novel methods in economic evaluation and decision modelling to
estimate costs and benefits of safety-related interventions
● Econometric analysis of hopsital readmissions and transitions of care
The theme is hiring a total of 1 post.
Our partners
To deliver against this ambitious portfolio of work, the Centre will work with leading
academic and translational partners, including but not limited to the following:
Academic partners:
● The Behavioural Insights Team – The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is a
social purpose company, jointly owned by the UK Government; Nesta (the
innovation charity); and its employees. BIT started life inside 10 Downing
Street as the world’s first government institution dedicated to the application
of behavioural sciences.
● UCL, Centre for Behavioural Change (Professor Susan Michie) - The
Centre for Behaviour Change is a unique initiative, harnessing the breadth
and depth of academic expertise in behaviour change at UCL to address key
challenges facing society. Behaviour change is increasingly recognised as
central to human well-being, social cohesion and sustainability. Changing
behaviour is a challenging and complex process, requiring theories, methods
and evidence from many academic disciplines.
● King’s College London, Centre for Applied Resilience in Healthcare (Dr
Janet Anderson) - The Centre is the first dedicated centre for translating
emerging theory and practice in organisational resilience into practical steps
to improve the quality and safety of care and reduce costs due to low quality
care such as inappropriate admissions, avoidable complications and
complaints.
In the past, translation partners have included (not exhaustive):
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From industry – Google DeepMind – DeepMind is the world leader in
artificial intelligence (AI) research and its application for positive impact.
DeepMind’s scientific mission is to push the boundaries of AI, developing
programs that can learn to solve any complex problem without needing to be
taught how. In the past, collaborations have included the acquisition of HARK,
a clinical task management programme developed by the Centre, and the
continued collaboration to refine its features.
From acute providers of healthcare – Imperial College Healthcare NHS
Trust (ICHNT) - As the host entity of the Centre, ICHNT has been the test
site for many NIHR Imperial PSTRC’s studies and innovations. Located in
Northwest London, ICHNT providers care to around a million people every
year, across its five hospitals and a growing number of community services in
North West London.
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From providers of mental health – West London Mental Health Trust
(WLMHT) - WLMHT is one of the largest and most diverse providers of NHS
mental health and community services in the UK, providing care and
treatment for around 62,570 people each year. In the past, collabortions have
included programmes to address the low reporting rate and to improve staff
experience and resilience.
From policy entities – Health Education England (HEE) – HEE supports
the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to the patients
and public of England by ensuring that the workforce of today and tomorrow
has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours, at the right time and in
the right place. In the past, collaborations have included partnering with the
Centre, in an academic capacity, to answer the question “what works in
education and training for patient safety?”
Main Duties
The main purpose of the posts is to support theme or programme leads, who will be
leading defined packages of work, under the appropriate theme lead with the Centre
Director, Professor the Lord Ara Darzi.
Successful applicants will be given significant autonomy to plan, direct and execute
research. There will also be significant opportunities to work across themes and
individuals will gain significant exposure to research in other topic areas.
Main duties include the following areas:
Research and analysis
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To take initiative in the planning research, including the prospective
determination of strategies to engage with translational partners, strategies to
engagement with patients for members of the public, deliverables, and key
milestones
To carry out systematic reviews
To assist in the preparation of Ethics Committee applications
To direct the work of small research teams including postgraduate students
(PhD students, Clinical Research Fellows and MSc students)
To gather data and conduct data analysis. To ensure that data governance
rules are followed in the storage, sharing and utilisation of all data
To maintain accurate and complete records of all findings
To take responsibility for organising resources and effective decision making
in support of research
To prepare material for presentation in oral and poster formats
To draft publications and prepare them for submission to refereed journals
To submit publications to refereed journals
To perform other reasonable tasks related to the furtherance of the project
aims
To contribute to the writing of bids for other research grants
From time to time, to contribute to other ongoing research across affiliated
Centres, mainly the entities under the IGHI if necessary
Reporting and management
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To attend progress and management meetings and internal and external
seminars, as required
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To work with the Centre Operational team (consisting of the Centre Manager,
the Centre Administrator and the PPIE Manager) and theme/programme
leads to ensure projects are delivered on-time, and to a high-quality standard
To write internal progress reports on the status of progress with respect to
research projects (expected every quarter)
To write reports for submission to research sponsors, public bodies and
industrial contacts (expected at least annually)
To help with the smooth running of the Centre
Collaboration, translation and impact
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To work in close collaboration with other project teams, researchers or leads
across the Centre, other departments and across Imperial
To work with all partners (academic partners or translational partners) to
identify research gaps, if any
To work with academic partners to execute research
To have a relentless focus on translation and making a real-world impact on
the safety of care provided to patients
To work with translational partners to implement and evaluate the
effectiveness of the interventions
To follow-up with translational partners in the short (1-2 years), medium (2-4
years) and long term (4+ years) to continuously gauge the real-world impact
of interventions
To properly document the scale of impact on patients and care provided,
including but limited to the drafting and submission of a project impact report
at the end of the project. To update the impact report continuously to
demonstrate impact over time
To identify potential translational opportunities and to build relationships with
translational partners
To attend relevant workshops and conferences as necessary
To develop contacts and research collaborations within the College and the
wider community
To promote the reputation of the Centre and the College
Supervision and teaching
● To undertake instruction of PhD students as agreed
● To support teaching and administration of the MSc Patient Safety
programme, a part-time MSc programme. Includes teaching on the
programme, the supervision of MSc students on their dissertation, and
marking of assignments throughout the year
Patient and public engagement and involvement (PPIE)
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To work with the PPIE Manager to ensure that all projects are signed off by
the Research User Group prior to their start
Ensures diversity in lay partner involvement
At the project level, ensure appropriate, effective and meaningful lay partner
involvement in projects and throughout the research cycle
To undergo the appropriate PPIE training upon joining the Centre and
refreshers training as necessary
Ensures lay partners get the appropriate training and support in their role
Ensures lay partners are remunerated according to internal Centre standards
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Ensures assessment and documentation of PPIE impact on the project, and
from the perspective of researchers and lay partners
Timely report PPIE progress, as required
Supports the execution of the Centre’s PPIE strategy, including contributing to
the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Process, as necessary
Other duties
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To undertake appropriate administrative tasks
To maintain safe workplace practice and procedures in accordance with the
requirements of Health and Safety legislation
To comply with relevant College policies, including Financial Regulations,
Equal Opportunities Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy, Health and
Safety Policy, Information Systems Security Policy and Intellectual Property
Rights and Register of Interests Policies
Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by line
manager / supervisor / Head of Department.
To undertake specific safety responsibilities relevant to individual roles, as set
out on the College Website Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities
page
(http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/safety/policies/organisationandarrangements).
Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and the post-holder may be required to
undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key
responsibilities.
Imperial College London is committed to equality and valuing diversity.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
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Has a PhD or equivalent
We are looking for individuals with the following educational backgrounds:
○ Statistics
○ Human factors
○ Engineering
○ Psychology, decision-making, behavioural science and other related
disciplines
○ Medical informatics and data science
○ Health services research and service evaluation
○ Quality improvement
○ Public health
○ Health economics (including econometrics, economic modelling and
behavioural economics)
Knowledge / Experience
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Essential:
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Is able to independently undertake foundational research activities, including:
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Compiling ethics applications and experience in the ethical approval
process
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Able to conduct a systematic review
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Write sections of a research grant, working with other more senior
research staff
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Prepare research papers
Is familiar with mainstream research methods frequently used in patient
safety including, but not limited to the following. We are looking for individuals
with fluency in one or two areas; no individual is expected to harbour deep
knowledge/fluency across all areas below.
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Qualitative methods, including:
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Ethnographic research (including observational),
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Focus groups
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In-depth interviews
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Thematic analysis
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Consensus studies
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Service audits and evaluation
Qualitative methods with specific understanding of psychology or
behavioural science, including:
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Human factor methodologies
Quantitative methods, including:
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Survey design and data collection
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Data mining techniques applied to healthcare data
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Proficiency in data preparation, cleaning and analysis using
standard statistical packages (e.g. SPSS, Stata, R)
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Experimental studies of human judgment
Quantitative methods with specific understanding of economics,
including:
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Econometrics, analysis of large patient-level datasets
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Economic evaluation and decision-analytic modelling
Has published 1 or 2 article in an esteemed journal in his or her previous area
of research
Able to demonstrate interest in and knowledge of current patient safety
policies, initiatives and research
Desirable (note: we are not looking for any single individual to harbour all of the
below desirable traits):
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Has previous post-doctoral research experience in any research area, and is
able to justify why said experience is of value in a patient safety context
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Has published 2+ articles in an esteemed journal in his or her previous area
of research
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Familiar with the development, use and evaluation of innovative technologies,
including artificial intelligence or machine learning (including natural language
processing), digital technologies (including apps) and etc.
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Familiar with applying behavioural science knowledge, theory and methods;
can demonstrate ability to influence behavioural change in the real-world
through the application of theory
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Has previous experience working in translational research, and is familiar with
the intricacies of doing such research.
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Able to demonstrate real-world impact on health service provision as a result
of his/her research or innovation
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Experience with independently designing, executing and managing mediumsized research programmes
Skills and Abilities
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Research skills relevant to the research project described in the Job
Description
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Ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature and to absorb a widerange of research literature
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Creative approach to problem-solving
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Demonstrable research project management experience
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Ability to work autonomously and show initiative with research
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Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to
communicate complex information clearly. Individuals will be asked to give a
short presentation on a specified topic and supply a writing sample during the
interview process
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Ability to work with a wide range of people and as part of a team
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Proven analytical and problem solving capability
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Ability to encourage research culture in others
Personal Attributes
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Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative
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Entrepreneurial and solution-oriented. Able to resolve day-to-day work issues
independently.
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Responsive to requests from leads, other members of the research team, and
other members of the Operational team
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Commitment to maintaining and enhancing facilities and training others in
their use
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Commitment to meeting deadlines
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Flexible attitude towards work
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Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role
APPLICATION GUIDANCE
Please read the person specification carefully and describe, as part of your
application, how you feel you meet each of the criteria. If you attach a CV it should
include the following information:

Applicant’s full name, private address and private telephone number
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A confidential e-mail address
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Degrees (including University and dates)
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Past and present posts
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List of publications
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Brief description of future research plans
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Names, addresses and, email, fax numbers, of three referees.
Thank you for your interest in this post. We look forward to receiving your application.
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