Find More Than 10K+
United Kingdom Jobs

We are looking for two full-time Clinical Research Fellows to be based at the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre Clinical Team (OPDC: https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/opdc/opdc-home) and the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital.

The primary research focus will be on comprehensive longitudinal clinical phenotyping of subjects with REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD), with scope to complete a DPhil focusing on genetic, proteomic, digital or imaging predictors of imminent RBD phenoconversion. The newly-established multidisciplinary Oxford-GSK Institute for Molecular & Computational Medicine (IMCM) will improve tools in, and knowledge from, genetics, genomics, molecular and single cell biology, spatial imaging, machine learning and novel methods of data handling to study the pattern of diseases in new ways.

Approximately 6-8% of RBD subjects convert to PD or Dementia with Lewy Bodies every year, and RBD is the strongest known risk factor for future PD. Supervised by Professor Michele Hu, Consultant Neurologist, the Fellows will join a team comparing clinical motor rating scales (eg MDS-UPDRS III) to digital smartphone motor testing, ambulatory gait and polysomnography (PSG) in this promising PD prodromal at-risk group. RBD subjects will be recruited and assessed at 3 UK sleep clinics following PSG diagnosis (Oxford, Papworth-Cambridge and Sheffield). The Clinical Fellow will also assist in the collection of biosamples (DNA, serum, plasma, skin biopsy, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

There are opportunities for the Fellows to register for an Oxford Neurosciences DPhil degree, focusing on an area of personal interest.

The Fellows will benefit from working within a well-established OPDC group (since 2010) with a track record of leading cohort digital biomarker work, a well-established OPDC imaging group within the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN: https://www.win.ox.ac.uk, Dr Johannes Klein), Genetic/omics expertise through the Oxford-GSK IMCM (Prof John Todd) and Cognitive Neuroscience (Dr Sanjay Manohar, Prof Masud Husain). The OPDC clinical team and related cohort of over 1000 participants have an established track record of publications in the field of PD risk and stratification biomarkers (for complete list see https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/opdc/research). Research will continue to build on established themes within the OPDC in identifying the earliest changes in Parkinson’s Disease applying clinical, MRI, digital and wet biomarkers to living RBD and PD individuals.

The successful candidate will hold a medical degree and full GMC registration, as well as have previous clinical experience in neurology and some experience of diagnosis and treatment of PD/Movement Disorders/atypical parkinsonism. They will also have computing experience, ideally including Windows, MS Office, Microsoft Word, Access & Excel software, but training will be given. MRCP or equivalent qualification and experience in Neurology at specialist registrar level is desirable.