Post-Doctoral Research Associate - Advanced BRAIN Health Study

Job Advertisement Title:

Post-Doctoral Research Associate - Advanced BRAIN Health Study

Salary: £ 63,233 per annum

Location: London.

Institute for Sport and Exercise Health (ISEH). Some travel to Imperial College London is expected

Job Summary

We are excited to advertise for a highly motivated post-doctoral research associate join in the new Advanced BiomaRkers Advanced Imaging of Neurological Health Clinic (‘Advanced BRAIN health Clinic’). The post is based at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH).

This longitudinal research study and clinical service provides state-of-the-art assessment of retired elite athletes who have concerns about their brain health, while gaining wider scientific insights into the relationship between sports traumatic brain injury (TBI) and clinical outcomes, including neurodegenerative disease & dementia.

The study is funded to assess retired rugby and football players, funded but run independently of the Premier Rugby League (PRL), Rugby Football Union and the Football Association.

Former elite players will have neuropsychological assessment, injury ascertainment, blood biomarker testing (including genetics/neurodegenerative markers), neuroimaging (3T MRI including DTI/fMRI) and neurological review. Individuals will then return for two follow-up visits at 2 years and 4 years where these investigations are repeated, to assess change over time. 

The successful candidate will play a central role in developing this sports-TBI neuroscientific research programme, collecting, analysing and publishing findings in this high-profile participant group. This post has considerable scope for scientific achievement and personal growth and will benefit from clinical and academic input as well as supervision. The candidate will also become a key member of the neuroscience research staff in the group of Professor David Sharp, member of the UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research & Technology, at Imperial College London, and Dr Richard Sylvester, Consultant Neurologist at UCL and ISEH

Duties and responsibilities

• Preparing and publishing findings in peer review journals
• Acquisition and management of data from elite athletes and healthy control data, including: neuropsychological assessment (overseen by clinical neuropsychologist), advanced MRI acquisition, blood sample processing and management
• Developing techniques for advanced neuroimaging analyses, integrating biomarkers data longitudinally and across modalities and epidemiological analyses within this unique patient cohort

Essential requirements

PhD in neuroscience, psychology, sports medicine, physiotherapy or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience