Research Assistant in Organ Specific Patient Reported Outcome Measures (Newcastle, GB) at None

Salary: £33,002 - £34,610  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 8 October 2025

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a Research Assistant (pre-doctoral level) to join an experienced research team, led by Professor Catherine Exley, in the Population Health Sciences Institute at Newcastle University. Your work will contribute to the ‘Applied Health Research and Inequalities’ theme of the Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Organ Donation and Transplantation, which is a collaboration between Cambridge and Newcastle Universities. You will be mentored by highly experienced applied health researchers and transplant clinicians to give you a true multidisciplinary approach to your research. You will be supported to network with different transplant centres across the UK as part of this national initiative. You will also become part of the BTRU early career researcher networks, providing opportunities to learn from other researchers within the research unit, and work closely with the lead researcher on this study, Dr Ben Rimmer.

You will work primarily on the ‘Quality of Life After Transplant’ study, which concerns the development and validation of novel patient-reported outcome measures of quality of life for solid organ transplant recipients. This work is invaluable for eliciting changes in practice that will help to improve quality of life for this population. For more information on the ongoing work of this theme, please see: https://odt.btru.nihr.ac.uk/research/theme-6/

This position would suit someone with an interest in, and/or keen to develop expertise in, transplantation and/or applied health. This fixed-term role will involve conducting and analysing interviews, focus groups and surveys with transplant recipients and healthcare professionals. This role will also involve (preparing for) dissemination of progress and findings to a wide range of stakeholders, and the conduct of patient and public involvement activities. You may also get the opportunity to support other ongoing work within the theme, including the co-supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate student projects.

In this role, you’ll be based at our Newcastle Upon Tyne campus with excellent transport links and facilities. We offer a hybrid working model allowing you to work from home but with the majority of time on campus.

This post is full time, fixed term until 31 March 2027

For informal enquiries contact: Dr Ben Rimmer [email protected] or Professor Catherine Exley [email protected]

The Population Health Sciences Institute is committed to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion for all staff and students. Applications for part time/flexible working are welcome; please state your desired working arrangements in your application.

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the community they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

Key Accountabilities

• To contribute to the recruitment of interview, focus group, and survey participants, through contact with relevant local authority/NHS, community and voluntary sector organisations, including established patient and professional networks
• To contribute to organising and conducting qualitative interviews with transplant recipients, focus groups with healthcare professionals, and pilot and large-scale surveys of transplant recipients
• To contribute to the analysis of qualitative (interviews, focus groups) and quantitative (survey) data to refine the new patient-reported outcome measures and determine their measurement properties
• To contribute to the write-up of development and validation documentation and a user guide for the new patient-reported outcome measures
• Work closely with the lead researcher to ensure the work progresses to agreed timelines
• Engage with the patient and public involvement lead and panel within the BTRU to ensure that the work is supported by patient and public input
• Contribute to the write-up of the research for publication and dissemination, such as through seminar and conference presentations
• Present research findings and/or progress to wide-ranging stakeholders at biannual BTRU meetings, advisory group meetings and relevant conferences
• Report the progress of the research to the study team at regular project meetings
• May be involved, with guidance, in the co-supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate student research projects

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, as required to work sensitively and effectively with healthcare professionals and transplant recipients from diverse backgrounds
• Demonstrable experience in applying qualitative research methods to data collection and analysis (e.g. undertaking one-to-one interviews or focus groups)
• Demonstrable experience in maintaining confidentiality and protecting research/personal data according to protocols and principles of good research practice
• Demonstrable experience in supporting the recruitment of participants to research studies
• Excellent organisational skills

Desirable

• Knowledge of transplantation research
• Knowledge of the different aspects of quality of life
• Knowledge of patient-reported outcome measures and their measurement properties
• Experience in applying quantitative research methods to data collection and analysis (e.g. survey)
• Experience liaising with community and/or professional networks to support recruitment and dissemination including patient and public involvement activities
• Experience in the dissemination of findings and/or project progress to key stakeholders or a wider project team (e.g. through presentations at conferences or events)
• Experience in the co-supervision of student projects

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to take initiative and be pro-active in day-to-day work
• Ability to work cooperatively as a supportive team member
• Ability and willingness to work flexible hours to fit around participants’ needs and preferences
• Ability to effectively communicate project progress and engage in the discussion of other ongoing work within the study team at regular meetings

Qualifications

• A Masters degree in health sciences, public health, psychology, social sciences or a related field

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28629