Centre Director, Parkinson's Research Centre

Closing date for applications: 23 April 2025, 5pm (BST)

In-person interview date: 21 May 2025

The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the UK’s leading research institute transforming the lives of people affected by neurodegenerative conditions. In partnership with Parkinson’s UK, we are seeking to appoint the inaugural Director of our new Parkinson’s Research Centre (PRC) to be launched in 2025.

The PRC will adopt a distributed, network structure, with researchers hosted in leading universities across the UK. 

You will lead and set the scientific direction and vision of the PRC, with the overarching objective of driving research excellence. At the heart of our new Centre, you will hire four new UK DRI Group Leaders (principal investigators) with research primarily focused on Parkinson’s, its causes, the biology of initiation and progression, detection, prevention and cure.  The PRC will work closely with existing UK DRI Group and Emerging Leaders, contributing to a critical mass of collaborating researchers.

You will provide strategic and visionary leadership and build a culture of collaboration to further develop our strong scientific identity and reputation for excellence in Parkinson’s research. This will enable you to create an environment that inspires and motivates research teams to further develop their scientific research expertise and careers. You will also, as a Centre Director, be part of the UK DRI’s national leadership team, supporting the Institute Director’s vision.

We are looking for a Centre Director to shape, develop and lead our new Parkinson’s Research Centre, and work with UK DRI leadership to develop and implement an Institute-wide, highly collaborative, Parkinson’s research vision and strategy.

Do you have the scientific leadership skills and vision to establish, nurture and grow the PRC?

Are you able to lead and develop our strong scientific identity and reputation for excellence in Parkinson’s research?

Are you able to create a mutually supportive and vibrant environment for Parkinson’s research, that is committed to the ethos of an inclusive and welcoming Centre?

Essential criteria

• Proven record of senior academic and strategic leadership, including proven capacity to develop partnerships and collaborations with Clinical, Academic and Industrial partners
• Proven communication and networking skills, evidence of successful relationship building, collaboration, and project management
• Commitment to the involvement of people with Parkinson’s in research
• Proven sustained and substantial record of publications in national and international journals and/or other quantifiable research outputs
• An established international reputation within the academic field of Parkinson’s research
• Proven record of winning competitive research funding along with a strong portfolio of research grants
• Understanding of the UK DRI’s mission; the capacity to develop a clear vision for the PRC and the ability to develop, plan and implement the relevant UK DRI’s strategic aims
• Evidence of commitment to nurture and support the development of the next generation of researchers
• For clinical applicants: Relevant registration in accordance with University  requirements

Desirable criteria

• Proven capacity to translate research into new tests or treatments for Parkinson’s

Further information:

Please view the job pack here.

To apply

The UK DRI’s structure provides that the Centre Director and Group Leaders at the PRC are employed by the university at which they are based. The successful Centre Director applicant will be granted a tenured professorship with a highly competitive salary at that university, and resources to fund a personal research programme.

As part of the application, please identify and tell us which university would be best suited to this position; providing a justification for such request. You may choose to be based at the following universities: Cardiff University, Imperial College London, King’s College London, UCL, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, or University of Oxford.

Each request will be reviewed, and the requested University will be engaged as part of the recruitment process should your application be taken forward.

When you apply, please provide:

• A cover letter that explains your motivation for joining the UK DRI and for leading the PRC. Include your preferred host University.
• A description of your vision for the PRC, including science priorities and research themes that you and the PRC’s other Group Leaders will pursue. Also describe your past and future (next five years) research plan and the optimum university host for your research programme. This must be no more than six pages, including references and all material.
• A full curriculum vitae and details of three referees.
• A lay summary of your application. This must use appropriate lay language, avoid technical language, and give a realistic representation of the scientific sections. With advance notice, support can be sought from Parkinson’s UK’s patient and public involvement programme. 

For informal enquiries please contact:

Prof Siddharthan Chandran, UK DRI Director and CEO siddharthan.chandran@ukdri.ac.uk

No agencies please.

By applying to this role, you understand and agree that your information will be shared within the UK DRI People & Culture team and/or any team members at the UK DRI, host University or Parkinson's UK who are part of the hiring process.

UK DRI is committed to equal opportunities.

The UK DRI embraces diversity, inclusion and accessibility for all of our people. We are committed to building a diverse organisation that represents the communities we serve and ensuring inclusion in everything we do. This means ensuring our recruitment processes are barrier-free and as inclusive as possible to everyone. We will make adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition.