Research Associate (Fixed Term) (CH9656R)

We are seeking to recruit a full time Research Associate to support the programme of work that we are leading on from Bath.

The role will initially involve identifying the psychosocial constructs that impact most on pain, and how it develops. This will require you to draw on existing knowledge, help lead literature reviews, and involve participant involvement.

The main part of the role requires you to be responsible for design, recruitment, testing and monitoring of people with clinical pain in new studies. There will be a focus on cognitive, emotional and behavioural factors in pain, and will cover both laboratory-based, as well as clinical pain investigations. Therefore, experience designing and running both laboratory, as well as experience in clinical/health research would be desirable.

There is the possibility of including digital data capture, such as online experiments or sensors, to measure pain outcomes. The post will involve working with complex datasets, requiring skills in quantitative data analysis. It will also involve working across the wider consortium to harmonise inclusion of pain related measures and analysis. You will need to take an active part in the work of the whole consortium including through participation at events and workshops, providing support and advice in keeping with their role and level of appointment, as well as engaging with patient and public focus groups and other stakeholders.

This position is offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) fixed term basis until 30/06/2025.

This role requires an Basic DBS & Barred List Check which we would organise.

About us:

The Bath Centre for Pain Research (BCPR) at the University of Bath is the home to a team of interdisciplinary researchers that investigate the effect that pain has on people’s lives. It has a focus on exploring the way psychological and social factors impact on pain, and how this understanding might translate into better ways to manage painful conditions. The core areas of work are in: cognitive processes in pain, social factors, child and family, evidence-based medicine and digital development.

The Centre is leading a newly established multi-institutional consortium called CRIISP (Consortium to Investigate Individual, Interpersonal and Social influences in Pain, https://criisp.uk/). It seeks to better understand how psychosocial mechanisms impact on chronic pain, explore how these factors might work alongside biology, in order to provide a better understanding of pain and how it is managed. The consortium is funded under the Advanced Pain Discovery Platform programme, which is part of a new joint and equal investment of £14 million by UKRI and Versus Arthritis. For UKRI, the initiative is led by the Medical Research Council, with support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). This research programme seeks to scale up research into chronic pain to improve outcomes for the many people living with painful and debilitating conditions.

For any information discussions about the role please contact Professor Edmund Keogh on e.m.keogh@bath.ac.uk or Lisa Austin (Research Hub Manager) on L.Austin@bath.ac.uk 

What we can offer you:

We are an equal opportunities employer and have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations. We have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award.

A family-friendly University with an increasingly agile workforce, we are open to flexible working arrangements. We’re also proud to be a disability confident leader and are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments you may require.

We offer:

a very generous employer contributory pension scheme;generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance;an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce;a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities.

Our campus is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and the City of Bath with its historic charm and social activity only a short distance away creates an excellent environment in which to work. Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information.

We aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds leads to a better environment for our employees and students, creating a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances health and wellbeing across our community. We are very proud to have recently received Ambassadors for Autism certification and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

Closing Date: 05 Oct 2022
Type: Education & Research