LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
FACULTY OF INFECTIOUS AND TROPICAL DISEASES
DEPARTMENT OF DISEASE CONTROL
FURTHER PARTICULARS
1. ADVERTISEMENT
Research Assistant
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Arthropod Control Product
Testing Centre, an internationally renowned centre for testing commercial arthropod
control materials and consumer personal protection products, is seeking to recruit a
Research Assistant. The successful applicant will be a valued member of the
research team and will be working at the forefront of vector control, designing and
implementing new experiments to test the efficacy of the latest vector and medical
arthropod control and repellency technologies from industry.
The successful applicant will have an undergraduate science degree and MSc in
medical entomology or parasitology (or equivalent work experience), specialising in
the control of mosquito vectors, with some previous experience of entomological
trials and research project management. Some knowledge of chemical control of
vectors, vector ecology and behaviour, study design, data management and
statistical methods would also be advantageous. Applicants should have excellent
teamwork, organisational and scientific skills.
The post is funded for two years. The starting salary is £30,915 inclusive, per annum.
Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The
reference for this post is JL02. Online applications will be accepted by the
automated system until midnight of the closing date. Any queries regarding the
application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an
equal opportunities employer
2.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is one of Europe’s leading
Schools of Public Health and a leading postgraduate institution worldwide for
research and postgraduate education in global health.
Part of the University of London, the London School is the largest institution of its
kind in Europe with a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise encompassing
many disciplines. The School was ranked one of the top 3 research institutions in the
country in the Times Higher Education’s 'table of excellence', which is based on the
2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), ahead of the London School of
Economics, Oxford, Imperial and University College, London. The institution also
achieved the largest increase in ranking compared with 2001, of any of the top 10
institutions in the RAE rankings. In 2009, the School became the first UK institution to
win the Gates Award for Global Health.
The School’s environment is a rich multicultural one: there are almost 4000 students
from 100+ countries following 22 taught masters courses delivered either in London
(~650) or through distance learning (~2700), and undertaking research degree
training (~400). Over 40% of these students are from non-European countries. The
largest growth has been in distance learning students (>40% over 3 years), though
the London-based student population (where accommodation limits growth) is at its
highest level ever. Alumni are working in more than 180 countries. The School has
about 1400 staff drawn from over 60 nationalities.
There are research collaborations with over 100 countries throughout the world,
utilizing our critical mass of multidisciplinary expertise which includes clinicians,
epidemiologists, statisticians, social scientists, molecular biologists, immunologists,
ophthalmologists, anthropologists, virologists, pharmacologists and nutritionists. At
any one time around 100 School staff are based overseas, particularly in Africa and
Asia. We have a strong commitment to partnership with institutions in low and middle
income countries to support the development of teaching and research capacity.
The School has expanded greatly in recent years. Its research funding now exceeds
m£62.4 per annum, much of it from highly competitive national and international
sources. The commitment of staff to methodological rigour, innovative thinking and
policy relevance will ensure that the School continues to occupy a leadership position
in national and global health, adapting quickly to new challenges and opportunities.
Mission
The School's mission is to contribute to the improvement of health worldwide
through the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and
advanced training in national and international public health and tropical
medicine, and through informing policy and practice in these areas."
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
The Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases encompasses all of the laboratorybased research in the School as well as that on the clinical and epidemiological
aspects of infectious and tropical diseases. It is headed by Simon Croft, who is
Professor of Parasitology. The range of disciplines represented in the faculty is very
broad and inter-disciplinary research is a feature of much of our activity. The
spectrum of diseases studied is wide and there are major research groups with a
focus on malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases,
vaccine development and evaluation, and vector biology and disease control. The
Faculty is organised into four large research departments comprising: Pathogen
Molecular Biology, Immunology and Infection, Disease Control, and Clinical
Research. There is close interaction between scientists in different research teams.
The Faculty has strong overseas links, which provide a basis for field studies and
international collaborations in developed and developing countries. The teaching
programme includes MSc courses, taught in-house and by distance learning, which
are modular in structure, a variety of short-courses and an active doctoral
programme (PhD and DrPH).
Department of Disease Control (Head: Dr Mark Rowland)
This multidisciplinary Department includes epidemiologists, entomologists,
anthropologists and social scientists, clinical scientists, public health engineers, and
geographers. This range of expertise provides us with a battery of tools for focusing
on the control of diseases that are insect-borne, water-borne or associated with poor
hygiene – mostly in developing countries. Much of the research can be categorised
as: evaluating disease control interventions; investigating implementation strategies including working with the private sector; understanding the factors underlying
household behaviour in relation to family health; or determining how control
resources can be targeted most efficiently. Particular attention is paid to research
directed at current health policy issues, including the gap between policy and
practice. The DFID Resource Centre for Water and Environmental Health (WELL)
and the Hygiene Centre make up the Department’s Environmental Health Group,
which plays a leadership role in research and operational support for hygiene
promotion, water supply and sanitation. The Department also houses the largest
research group in LSHTM working on malaria control, including the DIFD Team for
Applied Research to Generate Effective Tools and Strategies for communicable
disease control (TARGETs) and the Malaria Capacity Development Consortium
(MCDC). The Department’s valuable mosquito colonies are used for testing repellent
products and insecticides in the laboratory. The Department also includes a major
grouping of researchers using spatial analysis in public health.
Teaching
The School offers 22 one year full-time taught courses leading to the Master of
Science (MSc) degree of the University of London and the Diploma of the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (DLSHTM). The Faculty of Infectious and
Tropical Diseases runs or contributes substantially to ten of these courses and the
“Immunology of Infectious Diseases” course is run from within the Department of
Immunology and Infection. In addition, the Faculty is responsible for the three-month
Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) and offers a range of specialist
short courses lasting usually one or two weeks. Three MSc courses are also offered
by Distance-based Learning, including one on Infectious Diseases.
Teaching requirements
For research assistants and research fellows:
To contribute to the Faculty teaching programme, up to 10% of your time per annum,
subject to the policy of any funding agency (by agreement, some staff may make a
greater contribution than this).
Research Training
The School offers two doctoral training programmes. The MPhil/PhD degrees are
designed for those who wish to go on to a full time research career. The DrPH is
directed towards those who expect their careers to be more in the practice of public
health.
3.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Post:
Research Assistant
Grade:
AP5
Responsible to:
Dr James Logan
Department:
Department of Disease Control
The post-holder will be responsible to the Principal Investigator, Dr James Logan,
and will be required to design and implement scientifically rigorous experiments to
test the efficacy of arthropod control products following WHO protocols in laboratory
experiments. The post-holder will also perform data analysis and interpretation and
may at times be required to assist in other research activities within the research
group. The majority of the tests will be done for industrial clients and therefore, an
essential component of the post will be to liaise effectively with requests for
information from industry when required. The post requires an enthusiastic,
organised and innovative individual with a good experimental mind and excellent
attention to detail.
Main duties and responsibilities:
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Design, preparation and implementation of experiments to test products
designed for arthropod control or personal protection
Data entry, statistical analysis and interpretation of data
Assist in preparation of reports and quotations
Handle confidential information
Respond to enquiries from clients
Liaise with industrial partners and clients, administrative and support staff,
overseas field laboratories and insectary staff
Insect rearing when required
General laboratory duties, including preparation of chemicals, sourcing of
materials and equipment for experiments, etc
Contribute to writing of scientific manuscripts
Assist with other administrative and research activities where required
4.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential
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Science degree and MSc in Entomology (or related discipline) or equivalent
work experience
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Proven ability to juggle a high and varied workload to a high degree of
accuracy
Proven ability to perform statistical analysis on biological data
Proven ability to work as a team player
Excellent IT skills including use of Microsoft desktop applications, including
Microsoft Word and Excel, and statistical software
A high degree of personal motivation, including the ability to work
independently and organize own priorities
Desirable
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5.
Experience and knowledge of dealing with companies/private sector
organisations
Experience and knowledge of WHOPES testing procedures
Experience in vector control
Experience of rearing insects
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The post is funded for a period of two years. The starting salary is £30,915 inclusive,
per annum. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year for all staff (pro-rata
for part-time staff). In addition to this there are 6 fixed-date "Director's Days".
6.
APPLICATIONS
Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The
reference for this post is JL02. Applications should also include the names and
email contacts of 2 referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Any
queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience
and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more
paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part
of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that
the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as
“Please see attached CV” will not be considered acceptable.
Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date
it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.