Research Assistant/ Associate in Tinnitus Research

Salary:

Research Assistant: £32,296 to £33,882 per annum, pro rata

Research Associate: £34,866 per annum, pro rata

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 12 November 2024

Your Role

You will conduct, in its entirety, a clinical trial of the effect of combined sound therapy and electrical brain stimulation in people who have recently developed tinnitus, with the primary outcomes being short-term and long-term reduction in perceived loudness of tinnitus.

Whilst supported by a supervisory and collaborative team, you will take charge of, and run, the trial, performing all activities including ethics applications, writing of study protocols, recruitment, data collection, follow-up and support of volunteers, data analysis and presentation/publication of results.

The project

The project is a clinical trial combining two types of safe and non-invasive treatment for people who have newly developed tinnitus (i.e. with ‘acute’ tinnitus), i.e. persistent sound in the ear(s) that does not correspond to an external sound source. This is a common condition, affecting one in eight adults. For some, it is a source of long-term distress and disability. Currently, it lacks effective treatments to silence or significantly quieten the sound. Tinnitus is often likened to pain, and shares a number of brain mechanisms. Whilst there are effective treatments to reduce or eliminate pain, these are most effective early in the course of pain, whilst long-term (i.e. ‘chronic’) pain is much less responsive to these treatments.

This project works on the hypothesis that treatments for tinnitus will be more effective if given early in the course of the condition rather than after many months or years. It focuses on two treatments, each of which has been shown to have significant but modest benefits when given to people with chronic tinnitus. The aim is to establish whether the combined benefit of both treatments, given early, is sufficient to meaningfully change the course of the condition long-term.

One treatment is a form of sound therapy developed by Dr William Sedley’s group. You will learn to apply this, and target it to each individual’s tinnitus based on their hearing and tinnitus frequency.

The other treatment is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), where a weak electrical current is applied to the scalp using saline-soaked electrodes. This is applied to two locations on the head, in sequence, whilst the participant listens to the sound therapy sounds.
The course of treatment is approximately two sessions per week, over a period of months.

This post is fixed term until 31 December 2026 at 28 hours per week. The second year will be authorised by the funder subject to a satisfactory first year progress report.

For informal enquiries contact: Dr William Sedley: william.sedley@newcastle.ac.uk 

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/ 

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Key Accountabilities
•    Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial 'added value' 
•    Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements 
•    Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required
•    Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding 
•    Begin to write, with appropriate support, proposals for individual research funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids
•    Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
•    Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
•    Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
•    May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants 
•    Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute.
•    May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities
•    Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment
•    Run an online advertising campaign for recruitment of participants with acute tinnitus
•    Oversee and conduct the programme of research specified in the description, to the point of completion

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

•    Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
•    Detailed subject knowledge (PI to describe subject knowledge required) in the area of research 
•    Likelihood of advanced skills directly related to the research projects 
•    High level of analytical and problem-solving capability 
•    Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others 
•    Experience of research with clear transferable skills and some experience or awareness of the research environment 
•    Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications 
•    An established skillset relevant to the study of tinnitus in humans

Desirable
•    Strong understanding or experience with people experiencing tinnitus (particularly acute tinnitus)
•    Experience with electroencephalography (EEG)
•    Experience with non-invasive electrical/magnetic brain stimulation

Qualifications

•    Good honours degree (or equivalent) with some subject knowledge in the relevant area (Research Assistant)
•    A PhD in the research area required (Research Associate)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27719