Research Fellow in Rehabilitation Engineering

About us

UCL’s Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering is a global leader in research. We work closely with major teaching hospitals, which enables us to be at the forefront of healthcare engineering. This exciting role will be based on UCL’s campus at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) in Stanmore. The ResUrGE project, funded by Brain Research UK, will be the first in the UK to explore the application of epidural spinal cord stimulation to improve bladder and bowel function in people living with Spinal Cord Injury. We are a multidisciplinary team of academics, clinical scientists, neurosurgeons and physiotherapists based between UCL and the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, RNOH.

About the role

The post holder will be required to carry out the day to day running of the project ResUrGE. This includes participant recruitment, organising visits with participants and the clinical teams, and keeping in regular contact with participants that are enrolled in the trial. In addition, the post holder will be expected to design and run experiments for the project, including mapping of epidural stimulation and outcome measurements, ensuring a high standard of data collection and record keeping, and meeting appropriate regulatory standards. We also expect the post holder to contribute to the preparation of abstracts, publications and reports to the funder. A PhD is essential for the role, as well as experience recruiting and working with patients within a clinical environment. For more information about this role, please contact l.duffell@ucl.ac.uk. Please note an acceptable DBS check is required to carry out this role. This is a fixed-term role until 31st July 2026 in the first instance. Please note, the earliest start date for this role is 1st August 2023. Appointment at Grade 7 (£39,508 - £47,355) is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £35,702 - £38,514 per annum) (inclusive of London Allowance) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis. This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa. We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible. This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.

About you

You should be an experienced researcher, having completed a PhD, with experience working with patients on clinical trials and within a clinical environment. You should have excellent interpersonal skills as you will be expected to recruit at least 20 participants and keep regular contact with them, maintaining a good rapport with them throughout the trial. You should have experience working within a multidisciplinary team, as you will be required to set up and run experiments in consultation with the Principal Investigator and the clinical team. You should have experience designing and running experiments involving human participants, including data collection and reporting to a high standard. You should also be aware of the ethical and regulatory standards that should be adhered to when conducting clinical research. You should have experience drafting and submitting abstracts and papers to appropriate conferences and peer reviewed journals, and experience in presenting research findings at National and International conferences.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more. As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more. Your application should include a CV and a Cover Letter: In your CV, please include your publication list. In the Cover Letter please evidence how you meet the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the Job Description. Please upload this in the 'cover letter' section of the application form. By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the 'Why you have applied for this role' field in the online application form, which is limited in the number of characters it will allow.) If you have any queries about the role, please contact l.duffell@ucl.ac.uk. If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact MedPhys HR at MedPhys.HR@ucl.ac.uk.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. Our department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/