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Job overview

The post holder will be required to work as a Clinical Research Fellow taking responsibility for the coordination and support of the UCLH-Crick Legacy study    and other relevant clinical trials in COVID-19 such as STIMULATE-ICP. The Legacy study is a multicentre consortium built from Clinicians and Group Leaders from across the Francis Crick Institute and University College London Hospitals that tackles issues at the front-line of the on-going pandemic.  Key aims include the study of coronavirus infection to develop understanding of the dynamics of pandemics such as Covid-19.

Legacy utilises a unique bank of clinical samples gathered as part of the Crick Institute’s COVID-19 testing facility providing a remarkable resource for the investigation of facets of COVID-19 including immunity against emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (Wall et al., Lancet, 2021a; Wall et al., Lancet, 2021b), disease progression (Townsley et al., medRxiv, 2022), the impact of prior infection on immunity (Wu et al., Lancet, 2022a) vaccine efficacy and vulnerability of populations such as healthcare workers that can be used to inform policy on health and safety. 

Main duties of the job

Legacy also directly interfaces with other UCLH COVID studies examining the effect of the pandemic on different patient groups, including the NIHR funded STIMULATE-ICP trial. STIMULATE-ICP a large multi-centre trial investigating the symptoms, trajectory & pathogenesis of Long COVID in patients with persistent symptoms >12 weeks after primary COVID-19 infection. The causes of Long COVID remain unknown, & over 2 million people in the UK are estimated to be affected over the last 3 years. The post holder will undertake clinical work in the Post-COVID clinic at UCLH, & work on a reverse translational sub-study within the trial at the Francis Crick Institute, to test hypotheses on the causes of Long COVID & examining the immunological phenotypes underpinning a range of COVID-19 symptoms.

The primary role of the post holder is to undertake medical duties in line with the highest safety standards for trial participants & in compliance with Ethical & Good Clinical Practice principles & regulatory standards. The post holder will be delivering day-to-day research – i.e. following the protocol, assessing suitability & obtaining consent for research, undertaking full medical assessments of clinical trial participants including full physical & neurological examinations, ECG interpretation, laboratory test interpretation. 

Working for our organisation

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.     

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:     

• University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)   
• National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery  
• Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals  
• University College Hospital Grafton Way Building  
• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine   
• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre   
• The Hospital for Tropical Diseases  
• University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street  

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women’s health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.    

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.