Clinical Research Fellow

About us

The STAMPEDE trial (www.stampedetrial.org) was the first multi-arm multi-stage platform trial to open (in 2004) and to date has contributed to several large-scale changes in the management of patients with advanced prostate cancer (James, Lancet 2015 ) Addition of docetaxel, zoledronic acid, or both to first-line long-term hormone therapy in prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): survival results from an adaptive, multiarm, multistage,platform randomised controlled trial.,( James NEJM 2017) Abiraterone for Prostate Cancer Not Previously Treated with Hormone Therapy ,( Parker Lancet 2018 ) Radiotherapy to the primary tumour for newly diagnosed, metastatic prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): a randomised controlled phase 3 trial (stampedetrial.org),( Attard Lancet 2021) Abiraterone acetate and prednisolone with or without enzalutamide for high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of primary results from two randomised controlled phase 3 trials of the STAMPEDE platform protocol All availible on STAMPEDE website http://www.stampedetrial.org/media-section/publication-repository/ ). Over the past few years we have also focused on using imaging (led by the team based in Christie hospital Adnan et al JAMA Oncology 2021 Association of Bone Metastatic Burden With Survival Benefit From Prostate Radiotherapy in Patients With Newly Daignosed Metastatic Prostate Cancer: A secondary Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trial and molecular analyses (led by the UCL Cancer Institute) : Grist et al Genome Med 2022 Accumulation of copy number alterations and clinical progression across advanced prostate cancer, Parry et al Clinical testing of transcriptome-wide expression profiles in high-risk localized and metastatic prostate cancer starting androgen deprivation therapy: an ancillary study of the STAMPEDE abiraterone Phase 3 trialto better stratify patients for treatment. STAMPEDE2 is initiating in 2023 and will build on STAMPEDE(1) to further improve the outcomes of metastatic patients. The trials are conducted by the MRC CTU at UCL (trial lead: Professor Louise Brown) working closely with the Trial Management Group. The Treatment Resistance Team led by Professor Gerhardt Attard (https://www.attardlab.com) is a multi-disciplinary team focusing on studying treatment resistance in advanced urological cancers. The group has been integrating solid tumour and circulating cell-free DNA genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics with functional studies to track tumour clone dynamics in patients progressing through multiple lines of treatment. The aim is to identify cancer vulnerabilities to be exploited therapeutically and design clinical trials of biomarker-directed strategies for rational treatment selection and sequencing. Given the focus of STAMPEDE2 on using molecular biomarkers to select patients for appropriate treatment, we have estbalished a research fellowship to work across the Cancer Institute and the MRC CTU at UCL. The fellow will receive excellent training in state of the art clinical trial design and conduct and translational research. The fellow will play a critical role linking the Trials Unit and the lab-based research program. A parallel position will be starting at the same time in The Insitutite of Cancer Research (supervised by Professor Nick James) focusing on the administration of PSMA-Lutetium in STAMPEDE2.

About the role

The position is funded for 3 years in the first instance. Your application should include a CV and a Cover Letter: In the Cover Letter please evidence the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the Job Description. (By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the 'Why you have applied for this role' field in the application form, which is limited in the number of characters it will allow.) This post provides an opportunity to undertake a research fellowship based at the UCL Cancer Institute and the MRC CTU, training in all aspects of cancer clinical trial design and management and undertaking research relevant to the application of PARP inhibitors in the context of de novo metastatic disease. You can register and pursue a 3 or 4-year higher research degree (research fees will be provided) or equally, the post will be well suited to an oncologist seeking a period of post-doctoral research. You will join an exciting team of uro-oncology research fellows pursuing a wide range of clinical and laboratory research on prostate cancer within STAMPEDE, based at a range of locations (currently: Christie Hospital, MRC CTU at UCL, The Institute of Cancer Research). You will also join the team of clinical fellows working across number of trials at the MRC CTU to maximise exposure to clinical trial design and conduct. Primarily the research will focus on upfront use of PARP inhibitors for metastatic prostate cancer and will involve close collaboration with a large team of translational and computational scientists in the Treatment Resistance Lab at University College (UCL) and the STAMPEDE trials team led by Professor Louise Brown. The postholder will primary be based in the UCL Cancer Institute and will work flexibly/equivalent of 2 days per week to support trial activities and receive training in clinical trials. We envision that the fellow will work closely with a research fellow based in the Institute of Cancer Research undertaking research on concurrently accruing PSMA-Lutetium comparison of the STAMPEDE 2 trial.

About you

The postholder is expected to be a clinical or medical oncology trainee and will typically hold a national training number and plan to undertake this fellowship as out-of-program research experience ( or equivalent for other specialities). The fellowship will suit an oncology trainee who envisages a future career as a clinical researcher heavily involved in academic clinical trial development and translational research and wishes to build knowledge and skills to support this path. Medical degree and MRCP or equivalent are essential. Enrolled in or completed a training programme in oncology or a relevant speciality (UK or equivalent internationally) and relevant clinical experience treating patients with advanced prostate cancer are desirable but not essential.

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 (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan On-Site nursery On-site gym Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service Discounted medical insurance

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. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/