A Post-Doctoral Research Associate will work with Prof. Tony Charman as part of the R2D2-MH (Risk and Resilience in Developmental Diversity and Mental Health) consortium (funded by Horizon Europe/UKRI Innovate UK).
R2D2-MH proposes a double paradigm shift to improve the wellbeing of people with mental health conditions and their families. We will move from risk-focused studies towards understanding and promoting resilience, and from a diagnosis-based approach to a developmental diversity approach that will define wellbeing and functioning across the human lifespan. R2D2-MH aims to identify genetic and environmental protective/resilience factors and how they influence developmental diversity and mental health. See: https://humantechnopole.it/en/news/from-risk-to-resilience-in-mental-health-and-developmental-diversity
The successful candidate will contribute to two tasks. First, conduct data analysis integrating datasets from UK and European studies of (i) infants with a family history of autism; (ii) infants born preterm; and (3) extant longitudinal datasets on children, young people and adults with autism. The focus will be on identifying pathways to later mental health and wellbeing outcomes and the influences on these. Second, novel elements of the consortium work (on quality of life and functioning measures; on platforms for recording clinical care and risk and resilience factors) will be connected to large existing networks of academic and clinical sites via the AIMS-2-TRIALS network ( https://www.aims-2-trials.eu/).
The successful candidate will gain experience working as part of a major international consortium and acquire a range of research and transferable skills. They will contribute to the writing and publication of high-quality papers in peer-reviewed literature and will benefit from mentoring, training, and support to enable them to progress to the next stage of their career.
This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 15 months.
This is a full-time post – 100% full time equivalent
- Conduct data analysis and write high-quality papers for publications in the peer-reviewed literature, as well as communication of outputs and findings to scientific and non-scientific audiences, including people with lived experience of autism and mental health conditions
- Collaborate with consortium members leading on initiatives on functional outcome/wellbeing measures and data platforms for the collection of clinical data
- Connect with principal investigators (PIs) at academic and clinical centres to help them align and adopt these measures in their centres
- Perform practical duties, such as preparing progress reports for the project PIs and project managers, as well as its sponsor (European Commission)
- Attend and contribute to research team meetings
- Contribute to the presentation of results at conferences
- Work effectively as a team member
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.
Skills, knowledge, and experience
- Knowledge of psychological and biological theories relevant to understanding development in autism, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions.
- Experience of working in the neurodevelopmental and mental health fields.
- Skills in data analytic techniques relevant to longitudinal studies e.g. linear mixed models, structural equation models, growth curve analysis, multivariate regression.
- Experience of lead authorship on peer-reviewed publications.
- Experience of presenting at academic conferences.
- An ability to interact with principal investigators at collaborating centres in an engaging and professional manner via written and in-person (incl. videocall) modalities.
1. PhD awarded (or near completion*) in psychology, neuroscience or a related discipline.
2. Knowledge of the autism, neurodevelopmental disorder and mental health research literature, particularly with respect to clinical phenotyping.
3. Competence in quantitative research methodologies and statistical analysis
4. Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience of statistical packages beyond SPSS e.g. Stata, R, MPlus
5. Demonstrated experience of longitudinal data analytic techniques such as
linear mixed models, structural equation models, growth curve analysis, multivariate regression.
6. Relevant research experience and demonstrable research interest in topic areas related to the project.
7. Previous experience of lead authorship on peer-reviewed publications
8. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
9. Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to plan and prioritise own workload to meet project targets.
1. Experience of networking with scientific teams across multiple sites/labs involving both scientific and administrative coordination and collaboration.
Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.
Application deadline: Monday 27th February 2023
Interviews: Mid-March 2023