THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
Recruitment Role Profile Form
Job Title:
Research Associate/ Research Fellow
School/Department:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Salary:
£28,695 - £37,394 per annum, depending on skills and experience.
Job Family and Level:
Research & Teaching Level 4
Contract Status:
Fixed-term for a period of 14 months from 1 December 2014
Hours of Work:
Full-time (36.25 hours)
Reporting to:
Dr Jasmeet Kaler
Location:
Sutton Bonington Campus
Project:
Biosecurity and vaccination on UK dairy farms: What are the
opinions of farmers and vets, and what practical guidance should
be developed?
Main duties and responsibilities:
1
2
3
4
5
6
Gather and analyse expert opinion, and conduct consensus panels on the practices
surrounding biosecurity and vaccination
Support data analysis for a linked project on disease control
Carry out literature reviews of areas relevant to the project
Take the lead on the writing of peer reviewed journal articles of international
quality, generate project reports, and present conference papers at national and/or
international conferences
Operate as an effective team member and communicate with other project
members to ensure timely delivery of outcomes according to the project work plan,
attend meetings
Any other relevant work suitable to the grade
35%
10%
10 %
30 %
10 %
5%
Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience:
Essential
Qualifications/
Education
 PhD or be near to completion in
social science, veterinary
epidemiology or related
interdisciplinary field or equivalent

Skills/Training
Desirable
 An undergraduate or masters
degree in veterinary
science/agriculture/psychology or
other relevant degree
Postgraduate training in research
methods
 Research skills (e.g. research
planning, interview skills,
observational skills, data collection,
data analysis)
 Experience of running consensus
panels
 Evidence of publications in high
quality peer reviewed journals
 Good level of competency in the
use of qualitative and quantitative
data analysis software packages
such as NVivo and SPSS/STATA
 An ability to engage positively with
a range of stakeholders
Experience
 Research experience of using of
quantitative and qualitative
methods
 Research or other experience
working with veterinarians/
scientists/clinicians/other
professionals/farming community
 Experience of working in a team
Personal
Attributes
 Ability to work to deadlines and
prioritise tasks
 Ability to work well in a team
 Excellent written and verbal
communication and presentation
skills
 Willingness to travel throughout the
UK
Informal inquiries may be addressed to jasmeet.kaler@nottingham.ac.uk - Please note that
applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Project Summary:
There is currently limited evidence on the baseline use and implementation of disease control practices
such as biosecurity and vaccination on British dairy farms. There are suggestions that the uptake of
biosecurity is low by farmers. In addition, there is little evidence on the degree of promotion of
preventive practices by veterinary surgeons and how they recommend farmers use these practices.
The lack of uptake of appropriate biosecurity measures (including vaccination) indicates that currently,
there are barriers that prevent many dairy farmers from undertaking such measures.
Decision making is a complex process and in order to create strategies on how best to motivate
farmers and veterinary surgeons not currently engaged in such practices to do so, and to facilitate the
continued use of such practices by those already carrying them out, it is important to investigate the
beliefs and attitudes of both farmers and veterinary surgeons towards these measures. A structured
guideline that follows existing evidence and independent expert opinion, will allow the implementation
of appropriate farm-specific disease control measures.
This projects aims to use interdisciplinary research methods, incorporating social science, psychology
and veterinary science to unravel barriers that prevent the widespread implementation of biosecurity
measures, including vaccination strategies and identify the motivators to adopt these. The purpose of
this project is to combine current knowledge, farmer and veterinary surgeon beliefs and expert opinion
on biosecurity and vaccination, to develop a ‘best practice’ guideline for British dairy farms.
This work package is part of the £2.5 million, 5 year Dairy Co research partnership covering many
aspects of animal health, welfare and nutrition. The work also links to two PhD’s currently being carried
out under Dairy Co research partnership. This post is jointly funded by Dairy Co, University of
Nottingham and the Centre for Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine.
The University
The University of Nottingham delivers world-changing research and provides world-class education.
These strengths have brought it an outstanding international reputation, and, in 2006 and 2007, two
Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Nottingham’s reputation for excellence in teaching and research in the
full range of academic disciplines makes it a preferred choice for undergraduate and postgraduate
students across the globe. The University receives almost nine applications for every place and has
over 32,000 full-time education students studying at its UK campuses (about 25% of whom are
international and 8% postgraduates). The total number of staff currently employed by the University
exceeds 6,500, of which 1,882 are research and teaching staff, 1,050 are contract research staff and
3,560 administrative, technical and operational staff. The University’s total income exceeds £350m.
Last year, research new awards hit record levels – exceeding £120m.
According to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise more than 90 per cent of research at the
University is of international quality, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’
or ‘internationally excellent’. In 27 subject areas, the University features in the UK top ten, with 14 in
the top five, confirming the University’s status as a world-class institution carrying out research of
international quality.
The University is highly regarded on a social, economic, scientific and political level and widely
respected by the business, policy making and academic communities. Nottingham is very well placed to
prosper in an increasingly competitive and globalised environment. It has retained a broad spectrum of
subjects and increased intakes of all major categories of student whilst maintaining entry standards
which are amongst the very highest in the country.
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Nottingham Vet School is the first brand new, purpose-built veterinary school in the UK for over 50
years and it is our intent to make significant leading contributions to both veterinary research and
teaching within the context of valid relevance and application to the wider veterinary profession.
Research is central to the activities of the School, both in terms of maintaining ourselves at the
forefront of national and international efforts in veterinary medicine but also as an integral part of the
training and education for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science joint
submission with the School of Biosciences was ranked first in the country for the power of its research
with 95% of its activities classified at an international standard.
The academic staff of the School work within 5 strategic research areas: Infection and Immunity;
Population Health and Welfare; Comparative Medicine; Reproductive Biology and Veterinary
Educational Research. Our research is closely aligned with that in the School of Biosciences with whom
we share some research facilities and equipment. The involvement of our Clinical Associates and other
organisations within our research programs enables the identification of clinical problems in the field
and the rapid application of investigational science to these problems in both production and
companion animal species.
Further information about the School of
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/index.aspx
Veterinary
Medicine
and
Science
is
available
at