Research Associate in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences

Location: Denmark Hill Campus

Contact details: Dr Rory Sheehan. rory.sheehan@kcl.ac.uk

About us

Working as part of a world-class academic team based in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), the successful candidate will play a central role in the delivery of a high-profile research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). 

About the role

Applications are invited from highly motivated and enthusiastic candidates for a position of Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on an NIHR-funded project evaluating Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (C(E)TRs) for people with a learning disability and autistic people. C(E)TRs were introduced in 2015 as a key intervention in ensuring that people with a learning disability or who are autistic receive the right support in the community and do not spend too long in hospital, if they are admitted. The impact of C(E)TRs on clinical and other outcomes has not been extensively studied.

The research programme takes a mixed methods approach and will include, i) a study using electronic health record (EHR) data to identify C(E)TRs that have been undertaken within the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust and investigate the context and associations with the C(E)TR, ii) a 12-month national prospective study to investigate the current use and impact of C(E)TRs amongst children and adults with a learning disability or who are autistic, and iii) qualitative work to understand multi-stakeholder perspectives of the C(E)TR process and how this may be improved.

A major part of this role is the use of large-scale EHR data acquired using the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) tool developed by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). Thus, the applicant must be confident in using EHRs extracted from large clinical datasets, experience in methods of data extraction and statistical analysis, and have an enthusiasm to apply such techniques to answer real-world clinical questions.

The post-holder will contribute to other elements of the research project as outlined above, including drafting study materials and documents for ethical approval/sponsorship, liaison with research sites, and recruitment of participants, including people with a learning disability or who are autistic and their carers. The post-holder will be supported in these tasks by the wider research team, Clinical Studies Officers, and joined by a second Research Associate in year 2 of the project.

We will support academic career development, for example, in exploring collaborations with others, and research and wider professional skills development through local Early Career Researcher Networks and the College’s wider training programme.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until February 2028. The role will be based at the main IoPPN building in the Denmark Hill campus of KCL.

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