LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
FACULTY OF INFECTIOUS AND TROPICAL DISEASES
DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL RESEARCH
1. ADVERTISEMENT
Clinical Research Fellow
Applications are invited for a clinical research fellow post at the London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, based at the Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South
Africa, to start in early 2012.
The postholder will take responsibility for managing a project investigating testing for
tuberculosis among people attending for HIV care in South Africa. The project, at
three large HIV clinics in the area of Johannesburg, South Africa, will follow a cohort
of individuals attending for HIV care managed according to a novel study algorithm
and determine their outcomes. The post holder will manage this project at the study
sites, working with study staff employed through Aurum Institute, and with local clinic
staff. The project, a collaboration between LSHTM, Aurum Institute, National Health
Laboratory Services South Africa and University of Cape Town, is funded by a grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The post holder will have the opportunity
to register for a higher degree at LSHTM.
Applicants must be fully-qualified medical doctors, with experience in HIV and TB
care, preferably in a resource constrained setting.
Support includes a clinical salary for 30 months as a member of LSHTM staff, and
overseas allowances if applicable.
The post is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a period of
30 months starting in early 2012. The appointment will be made on the LSHTM Clinical
Research Fellow scale, £30,992 - £44,856 per annum inclusive. 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".
Applications should be made via our website http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk and should
include a CV. The reference for this post is CRF-AG. Any queries regarding the
application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk quoting the reference
number.
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). 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, economists, 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
£67M 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 improve health in the UK and worldwide through
excellence in public and global health research, teaching and knowledge translation,
working in partnership.
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 Clinical Research (Head: Prof Alison Grant)
The Department of Clinical Research addresses infectious diseases of major public
health importance in developing countries. Activities include trials of new therapies,
vaccines and educational interventions; the development of new diagnostic tests;
studies to elucidate the immunological and molecular correlates of pathogenesis and
protective immunity, and to identify genetic polymorphisms conferring protection or
susceptibility to infectious diseases; health services research which aims to identify
the most efficient and cost-effective way to deliver health care; and health policy
analysis. In addition to our many overseas collaborations, we have close links with
the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in new, purpose-built accommodation on the main
UCL Hospital campus, five minutes walk from the School. The Wellcome Trust
Bloomsbury Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine is based in the Department, and
currently supports five Clinical Training Fellows and two Career Development
Fellows, most of whom are based overseas.
Much of the Department’s research concerns HIV and related infections; in particular,
the interaction between HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and
between HIV infection and tuberculosis. We have longstanding and fruitful
collaborations addressing these issues in Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda and South
Africa. Brian Greenwood FRS is leading an initiative to strengthen malaria research
in the School through new collaborative links in Africa. Research and teaching on
blinding diseases in developing countries has been greatly strengthened by the
recruitment of Allen Foster, who is Medical Director of CBM International, an NGO
with programmes for the prevention of blindness and disability in over 100 countries;
our research on trachoma has played an important part in framing the strategies
adopted by the WHO and the new International Trachoma Initiative for the elimination
of blinding trachoma by the year 2020.
The post
The post holder will take responsibility for managing a project investigating testing for
tuberculosis among people attending for HIV care in South Africa. Existing guidelines
suggest that people attending for HIV care should be screened for tuberculosis at
every clinical encounter, and those with any symptom investigated for tuberculosis.
With the roll-out of new and more expensive diagnostic tests, such a policy is likely to
be unaffordable. This project will investigate a novel algorithm for management of
individuals attending for HIV care who have tuberculosis symptoms. The project, at
three large HIV clinics in the area of Johannesburg, South Africa, will follow a cohort
of individuals attending for HIV care managed according to the study algorithm and
determine their outcomes. The post holder will manage this project at the study sites,
working with study staff employed through Aurum Institute, and with local clinic staff.
The project, a collaboration between LSHTM, Aurum Institute, National Health
Laboratory Services South Africa and University of Cape Town, is funded by a grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The post holder will have the opportunity to register for a higher degree at LSHTM.
3.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Post:
Clinical Research Fellow
Responsible to:
Professor Alison Grant, Professor of International Health,
Department of Clinical Research, LSHTM
Principal Responsibilities

Preparatory work for the research project, including preparing literature
reviews, project protocols, standard operating procedures and applications to
research ethics committees and other regulatory bodies;

Taking primary responsibility for management of the research project at the
study sites in South Africa, including supervising field work, co-ordinating the
work of the study team and reporting to senior investigators in South Africa
and the UK;

Clinical assessment of patients recruited to the study (such as questionnaires,
interviews, examinations and sample collection);

Liaison with health service staff at study sites, including working with clinical
staff to develop project implementation plans for each site; communicating
study progress; identifying any difficulties which may arise and feeding back
to study investigators;

Liaison with relevant administrative staff at LSHTM and Aurum Institute;

Responsibility for entry, management and statistical analysis of project data;

Preparation of progress reports, scientific reports, conference presentations
and publications;

Responsibility for budgeting and financial aspects of the research project,
including project expenditure and accounting in the UK and South Africa;
4.

Undertaking other duties associated with the post as requested by the line
manager;

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);

Adhering to Faculty and School policy and procedures at all times, and
adhering to Aurum Institute policy and procedures while based at Aurum
Institute.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential requirements
1. Fully qualified as a medical doctor
2. Clinical training and experience in HIV and/or tuberculosis care
3. Relevant research experience, preferably in a low or middle income country
4. Evidence of excellent scientific communication skills
5. Evidence of effective team working skills
6. Evidence of effective organisational skills
7. Evidence of ability to meet deadlines
8. Willing and able to work in South Africa
9. Valid current driving license and willingness to drive between study sites in
South Africa
Desirable requirements
10. Clinical work experience in a low or middle-income country
11. MSc in epidemiology or public health or equivalent
12. Experience of working in a multicultural environment
5.
APPOINTMENT
The post is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a period of 30
months starting in early 2012. The appointment will be made on the LSHTM Clinical
Research Fellow scale, £30,992 - £44,856 per annum inclusive.
Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year for all staff (pro-rata for parttime 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 CRF-AG. 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.
Online applications will be accepted by the automated system until midnight of the
closing date.
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