Clinical Research Associate (Fellow) (Newcastle, GB) presso None

Salary: £35,608.00 - £46,049.00  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: 18/11/2025

The Role

Applications are invited for the post of Clinical Research Fellow who will work alongside the study teams and Professor Camille Carroll on the EJS ACT-PD trial.  

Identifying a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a major unmet need. The Edmond J Safra Accelerating Clinical Trials in Parkinson’s Disease (EJS ACT-PD) trial is a multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) platform trial aiming to increase scale and pace of PD research. The trial provides a sustainable platform to efficiently assess potentially disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for PD.

The trial design has been led by the EJS ACT-PD Initiative, comprised of more than 90 expert members including people with PD and care partners. The objective was to design an innovative clinical trial platform, which is acceptable and accessible for a diverse participant population, and able to provide efficient results which are meaningful to the PD community.

The trial will recruit up to 1600 participants across 40 UK sites over 3-4 years. Participants will have 6-monthly visits for up to 36 months which can be completed either in-person or remotely. The trial infrastructure is flexible to remove ineffective treatments early and introduce new treatments as funding allows. Trial sub-studies will include the assessment of digital outcome measures, wet biomarker collection and MRI imaging.

Both the EJS ACT-PD Trial and Initiative are led by Professor Camille Carroll (Newcastle University, Co-Chief investigator) and Professor Thomas Foltynie (UCL, Co-Chief investigator). The trial delivery will be overseen by the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit (MRC CTU).

This post provides a unique opportunity to develop a practical understanding of clinical research and develop your career.  

You will be responsible for assisting with the day-to-day running of the trial and related sub-studies, involving, but not limited to, consenting participants, data and blood sample collection, clinical assessments, and adverse event review. There will be opportunity to develop an individual specific research project which could form the basis of a PhD. You will be expected to work closely with the trial management team at the MRC CTU, the Co-Chief Investigators, and an additional Clinical Research Fellow who will be appointed at UCL. The EJS ACT-PD Initiative will run alongside the trial to focus on future innovations and sustaining the trial past its initial funding timeframe. The core team of the Initiative will work closely with the trial delivery teams and yourself to ensure future developments align with trial progress and delivery processes.

Additionally, with the academic nature of the post, the candidate is expected to participate in ongoing and new research projects and will have the opportunity to participate in the acute and long-term assessment and management of people with PD. 

We are looking for a dynamic, conscientious, self-motivated team player, with a thirst for new knowledge and an appetite for discovery.  You will be a registered medical practitioner licensed to practise in the UK or eligible to be registered medical practitioner and hold MRCP (UK) or equivalent. Knowledge of the clinical evaluation of patients and a very high level of consideration and care for patients and research subjects is essential. Excellent oral and written communications skills and strong problem-solving abilities are all a requirement, as is a GCP research qualification. Honorary contracts will be sought from Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for which a DBS check will be required. 

To apply for the position, we’ll need your CV and a cover letter outlining how you are suitable for the role using evidence to highlight how you meet the essential criteria in the knowledge, skills and experience as listed in the job description.

The post is available immediately and is funded for 3 Years in the first instance, with the possibility of extending to up to 6 years. Appointment will be on the CL7, StR, or RDPS salary scale, dependent on NHS contract and/or stage of specialist training, with starting salary in the range £41,634 - £70,425 per annum.

For further information please contact Prof. Camille Carroll (email: [email protected])

Key Responsibilities

Main duties

• Contribute to the recruitment of all eligible patients. This will involve both coordination of and direct participation in all the aspects related to patient recruitment, from obtaining informed consent to clinical assessments, which include objective, standard scales such as the MDS-UPDR, and cognitive testing, and patient-reported outcome measures
• Coordinate and contribute to the collection of demographic, life-style, clinical, paraclinical (serum biomarkers), and relevant sub-study data (possibly including digital data, imaging and additional biosamples) throughout the study, so that the highest quality data is collected and at all times is in compliance with the requirements of the project protocol, and conforms with good clinical practice (GCP)
• To work together with the EJS ACT-PD CI at Newcastle University, CI at UCL, Trial Management Team at MRC CTU, and Principal Investigators at other participating hospitals where required, the other members of the EJS ACT-PD team in data processing and interpretation of the results and the EJS ACT-PD Initiative core team for future trial development
• To oversee the review, ranking and resolution of adverse events experienced by trial participants including providing clinical advice and/or escalating as necessary
• To contribute to PPIE (public and patient involvement and engagement) activities and communication materials / strategies as required

Teaching, Research and Development

• Provision of teaching on topics related to the post holder’s work as requested by the line manager
• Contributing to the department’s multidisciplinary research projects within the strategy
• Preparing and analysing data for publications for dissemination of research and for presentation at international conferences as well as internal meetings at Newcastle University, and meetings with external collaborators

General Duties

• Ensuring the highest standard of record keeping, maintaining accurate, complete, and up to date records
• Ensuring confidentiality is maintained as applicable
• Attending and contributing to Departmental, Institutional, and other meetings as appropriate
• Acting at all times in accordance with the highest professional standards and ensuring that these are maintained in the delivery of all aspects of research
• Ensuring that duties are carried out in a resource efficient way
• Adhering at all times to the policies, rules and regulations of the Department, Institute and University

The above description is not exhaustive, and the post-holder will be required to undertake any other duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope, spirit, and purpose of the post. Job descriptions are reviewed on a regular basis including at the annual appraisal. As duties and responsibilities change, the job description may be amended in consultation with the post-holder

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience(Essential)

• Experience of working with Parkinson’s Disease patients
• Knowledge of the clinical evaluation of patients
• IT proficiency at advanced user level (MS Office suite, web-based systems, databases, file management etc)
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Resourceful and able to act on own initiative, with strong problem-solving abilities
• Meticulous and accurate in all aspects of work
• Excellent time management, and ability to work to strict objectives

Desirable

• GCP research qualification
• Understanding of the biology of neurological conditions and/or assessments, e.g., MDS-UPDRS, patient-reported outcome measures
• Experience of PPIE in research (public and patient involvement and engagement)
• Experience of delivering research trials in clinical settings (e.g., recruiting and consenting participants, reviewing adverse events, completing clinical assessments, recording trial data etc.)
• Good knowledge and recent experience of research ethics, administration, and activities
• Knowledge of Data Protection legislation and the ability to handle sensitive data
• Previous publications or presentations of research outputs (manuscripts, abstracts, scoping reviews etc.)

Attributes and Behaviour 

• Good interpersonal skills with an ability to work co-operatively in a multidisciplinary setting
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Interested in research and a commitment to supporting high quality research

Qualifications (essential)

• Registered medical practitioner licensed to practise in the UK or eligible to be a registered medical practitioner by the time of appointment
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent

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 Gold 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: 28805