About

The
Job.

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health

Department of Oncology

Research Associate/ Fellow

Overview:
The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health is one of the major UK centres for education
and research in health and related subjects. With origins dating back to 1828, the Faculty
has a long-standing tradition of excellence in clinical education and research.

Over 2,500 students study in the faculty each year on over 40 different courses. In
addition, over 200 students are registered on research degrees, supporting a faculty
research portfolio in excess of £30M.

Independent assessments of our teaching and research quality rate us as among the best
in the UK.

With over 250 academic and clinical staff, and 250 research associates, the Faculty has the
training and development of staff at the centre of its strategic priorities. A tailored training
programme – Think Ahead – in line with the Concordat to Support the Career
Development of Researchers is available to all researchers in the Faculty. This includes a
departmental induction process; workshops linked to working-based learning
opportunities; employer lead career days; and tailored support in preparation for the end
of a contract. A newly developed career mentoring scheme with academic, industrial and
alternative careers’ strands gives practical support for career development in your chosen
destination. The portfolio of transferable skills and career development courses is
continuously updated and tailored to the researcher and the employer needs and to fit
with the strategic aims of the Faculty. For more information on current opportunities see
http://www.shef.ac.uk/faculty/medicine-dentistry-health/training-for-researchers or email
Kay Guccione (k.guccione@shef.ac.uk).

The Medical School

Sheffield School of Medicine was founded in 1828, subsequently merging with Firth College
(1879), forerunner of the University, and Sheffield Technical School (1884) to form
University College Sheffield in 1897. The University of Sheffield was granted a Royal
Charter in May 1905.

The Medical School today is home to more than one thousand students at undergraduate
and postgraduate levels. Our aim is to provide high quality, innovative teaching and

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research to ensure tomorrow's doctors are best equipped to tackle disease.

The School's activities incorporate teaching, research and the practice of medicine. Our
courses expose medical students to best current practice, through learning with the
excellent Primary and Secondary care providers in the region.

Equally important is the research we engage in to contribute to developing the medicine of

tomorrow. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, we submitted to 6 Units of
Assessment. Overall, 90% of our research was assessed as internationally recognised with
60% of research in UoAs 2 and 4 being rated world-leading or internationally excellent. We
increased substantially the number of staff submitted and our research power ranks us
11th out of the 20 Russell Group Medical Schools.

The Department of Oncology is one of five Departments in the Medical School. Further
information about the work undertaken within the department, can be found at the
following webpages: www.shef.ac.uk/medicine/oncology.
We are seeking to appoint either a Research Associate (grade 7) or Research Fellow (grade
8) to work on a research project funded in the Tumour Microcirculation Group
http://tumour-microcirculation.group.shef.ac.uk by a Cancer Research UK (CR-UK)
Programme grant. You will work with the Principal Investigator and other team members
in the area of tumour microcirculation and vascular targeting, particularly investigating the
role of different isoforms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) in pericyte
recruitment, formation of adherens junctions and tumour vascular stability.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Report to: Principal Investigator

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Identify relevant literature and update own knowledge in order to define specific
research questions for experimental testing, within the remit of the Programme grant
and in collaboration with the Principal Investigator.
Design, develop and refine experiments in tumour biology in order to obtain reliable
data.
Carry out research experiments, with particular focus in vivo and on biochemical
analyses of excised tissues, including microscopy, to fulfil research aims.
Analyse and record data to aid the design of future research and produce useful
findings for others.
Prepare papers for journals/presentations either in-house or at national/international
conferences or seminars to disseminate research findings.
Write supporting documents to contribute to and support the work of the Research
Group e.g. reports and interim reports.
Prepare research proposals for funding bodies.
Carry out administrative roles as required.
Provide assistance to other researchers in the same laboratory in related research.
Assist with the supervision of undergraduate and/or Masters projects. Supervise
research staff, as required.
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 Read academic papers, journals and textbooks and attend conferences to keep
abreast of developments.
Contribute to professional activities such as refereeing papers and/or grants, editing
journals, examining, organising conferences, committee membership.
Finance: assist PI to co-manage research funding.

Planning and Organising

Plan for specific aspects of the research programme as outlined in the CR-UK
proposal. Timescales range from one to twelve months in advance and contribute to
research group planning.
For each particular hypothesis, plan for own contribution up to six months ahead,
incorporating issues such as the availability of resources, deadlines, project
milestones and overall research aims.
Co-ordinate and liaise with other members of the research group over work
progress. .
Continuously monitor and check results. The unpredictability of research means that
daily planning needs to accommodate new developments.
Deal with reactive requests daily e.g. supervision of research staff/students and
administrative tasks.
Plan several months in advance to meet deadlines for journal publications, reports
and papers for conferences.
Any other duties, commensurate with the grade of the post.

In addition, appointment to grade 8 will involve the following duties and

responsibilities:
Undertake a lead role within the research project by initiating and implementing a
programme of research in an appropriate timescale, including managing time,
materials, equipment, finance and people effectively.
Provide leadership and management to research staff and students.
Supervise research team/activities if required.
Identify appropriate sources of funding and design, develop and win proposals for
research projects.
Contribute to research group strategic planning.
Manage external relationships with partners to collect and disseminate data and to
enhance the Department and School’s profile.
Supervise undergraduate and/or Masters projects.

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PERSON SPECIFICATION

Applicants should demonstrate evidence of the following criteria in their applications. We

will use a range of selection methods to measure candidates’ abilities in these areas
including reviewing your on-line application, seeking references, inviting short-listed
candidates to interview and other forms of assessment action relevant to the post.

Criteria Essential Desirable

Qualifications and experience
1 A PhD in a biological subject (or equivalent experience) X
2 Experience of research in tumour and/or vascular research X
3 Experience of in vivo research techniques X
4 Experience of basic molecular biology techniques and X
protein biochemistry
5 Experience of advanced microscopy techniques X X
(Grade 8) (Grade 7)
6 Experience of immunohistochemistry and FACS analysis X X
(Grade 8) (Grade 7)
7 A record of quality research publications X X
(Grade 8) (Grade 7)
Communication skills
8 Effective interpersonal and communication skills to present X
findings at conferences and conduct effective working
relationships.
9 Ability to use specialised software packages such as for X
image analysis
10 Excellent written communication skills including report- X
writing skills
Project Management
11 Ability to assess and organise resources, and plan and X
progress work activities.
Problem solving and decision making
12 Ability to develop creative approaches to problem solving. X
13 Ability to analyse and solve problems with an appreciation X
of longer-term implications.
Personal effectiveness
14 Excellent organisational and administrative skills X
15 Experience of developing and maintaining a network of X X
collaborators throughout own work area (Grade 8) (Grade 7)
16 Proven ability to work to and meet deadlines X
17 Ability to adapt skills to new circumstances X
18 Ability to work effectively with other team members and X
collaborators
19 Awareness of laboratory safety and technical expertise X

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Further Information
The post is fixed term, with a negotiable start date as soon as possible and an end date of
30th September 2013.

Terms and conditions of employment: Will be those for Grade 7 or Grade 8 staff.
Salary for grade 7: £28,139 - £35,646 per annum. Potential to progress to £38,951 per
annum through sustained exceptional contribution.

Salary for grade 8: £36,715 - £42,563 per annum.

More details on salaries, terms and conditions and our wide range of benefits for staff are
available at www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/salaries.html

Closing date: 21 January 2011

Health assessment:
Please note that due to the duties of this post, the final appointment will be subject to the
completion of a satisfactory health assessment from the University Staff Occupational Health
Service.

Informal enquiries:

For all on-line application system queries and support, contact: e-

Recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk .

Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor Gillian Tozer at g.tozer@sheffield.ac.uk, or

by telephone on 0114 2712423.

Selection Action – next steps

Following the closing date, you will be informed by email whether or not you have been
shortlisted to be invited to participate in the next stage of the selection process. Please note
that due to the large number of applications that we receive, it may take up to two working
weeks following the closing date before the recruiting department will be able to contact
you.

The University of Sheffield is committed to achieving excellence through inclusion

The University of Sheffield is proud to be a Two Ticks employer

www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/equality/support/twoticks/

The University has achieved the Athena SWAN award for Women in Science, Engineering and
Medicine