Research Assistant

The Role

Do you enjoy working with children and seeing them develop? Are you interested in promoting their physical abilities? If you have a passion for leading the way in new research discoveries, then this project could be for you. In this role, you will gain insights into how the brain plays a role in supporting physical activity and how children can be supported to become more physically active.

The project: Can mental practice improve outcomes in young children with movement and attentional deficits?

Your role will be to support the set up and running of a live research project. The project involves working with young children (7-13 years), who have dyspraxia and attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim is to improve movement skills in balance, throwing and hand-eye coordination. You will help to recruit children through our established links with a professional occupational therapy team. The testing facilities are based in Stockton-on-Tees, near Middlesbrough, and participants will be recruited from the surrounding areas. Duties will involve assessing the children in their task performance both before and after an intervention. This is a home-based intervention, delivered by parents, involving both physical and mental practice routines. The mental practice component includes observing and imagining movements displayed on a tablet device. You will conduct assessments of physical ability (e.g., balance and hand-eye coordination) and brain function using electroencephalography (EEG), where equipment training will be provided. You will also be responsible for collecting and storing data safely. This project should appeal to candidates who are interested in working with young children, promoting active healthy lifestyles and understanding the role of the brain in movement development.

We are committed to the professional career development of all our colleagues. You will benefit from a range of excellent development opportunities including internal and external training, active institutional membership of specialist networking groups and opportunities to gain experience of other areas of advancement and University professional services.

This post is fixed term for a period of 18 months. The role is part time 14.8 hours per week.

We would welcome requests for flexible working and depending on the needs of the role. While data will be collected in a face-to-face setting, blended working opportunities to work remotely as well as on campus can be considered alongside the main data collection duties. The hiring manager will discuss the requirements of the role, should you be invited to interview.

Enhanced DBS check will be provided by the occupational therapy company for the applicant once in post.

Please provide evidence of how you meet the essential criteria required for the role outlined in ‘The Person' by uploading a letter of application along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

For informal enquiries contact: Dr Daniel Eaves 

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/

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

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