Research Assistant Position in Visual Neuroscience at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Schemes and Mind Maps of Ophthalmology

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UCL INSTITUTE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

Research Assistant:

Visual development in infants and children.

REF: 1192049

UCL INSTITUTE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (UCL)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Research Assistant

Research Department: Visual Neuroscience UCL Institute of Ophthalmology 11-43 Bath Street London EC1V 9EL

Reports to Dr Marko Nardini

Grade: Grade 6B; Spine points 24-

Period of appointment: 36 months, commencing on 26 September 2011 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project

There is a vacancy for a graduate Research Assistant on a project studying visual development in infants and children. The position is based in the Department of Visual Neuroscience at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and is funded for a period of 36 months by a project grant from Fight For Sight.

1. The Role

Vision scientists at UCL are working in collaboration with clinicians at Moorfields Eye Hospital to develop new treatments for blinding eye diseases including retinal dystrophies, glaucoma, and corneal disease. In the world’s first clinical trial of retinal gene replacement therapy, at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, young adults with defects in the gene encoding the RPE65 protein had healthy copies of the missing gene inserted into the cells of the retina. This initial study has shown sight improvement in a blinding inherited disease that is otherwise incurable (see http://tinyurl.com/iootrial). A major goal for this and other new treatments to restore vision is to treat younger patients, who have less advanced disease and so are most likely to benefit. However, accurate assessment of functional vision in young children remains a major challenge.

The post-holder will join the UCL Child Vision Lab headed by Dr Marko Nardini to assist on a 3-year project developing new psychophysical tests for assessment of visual function in young children, investigating retinal structure and function in children with genetic mutations leading to retinal disease, and evaluating results of ongoing trials of new treatments for young patients such as gene replacement therapy. Other work in the lab includes projects on visual, spatial and multisensory development. The post is based at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and the adjacent Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital. The work will be carried out in collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, including experts in vision science, genetics, electrophysiology, and biomedical imaging. The post offers the opportunity to investigate development of the human visual system from the level

2. Main Duties & Responsibilities - Recruitment of participants o Recruit patients and children with healthy vision to participate in research studies o Establish and maintain links with local schools, parent groups, post- natal wards o arrange recruitment leaflet printing and magazine/online advertising and keep records of costs - Day-to-day running of the lab o Maintain a safe and pleasant child-friendly environment o Maintain records of study participants o Arrange participant visits, transport, and reimbursement - Running research studies o Welcome participants and brief them about the studies o Look after young participants or their siblings as needed o Test participants in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner, following study protocols. o Help to develop and refine procedures for new tests o Enter data from studies (e.g. using MS Excel) - Research administration o Liaise with clinicians and the hospital research committee to organise research and recruitment o Draft research protocols and amendments for NHS and UCL ethical approval and liaise with NHS and UCL ethics committees - Data analysis and presentation o Assist with analysing data (e.g. using Excel, SPSS or Matlab) o Assist with preparation of manuscripts o Assist with presenting data at conferences, or preparing data for presentation - Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, the title of the post and its grading as requested by the supervisor and head of division.

3. Person Specification

Requirements Criteria E / D*

Assessed A / I*

1. Education, Qualifications and Training

BSc or equivalent in a scientific discipline related to vision science or experimental psychology

E A

2. Skills, Ability

Excellent written and oral communication skills E A

Ability to work to manage time effectively, excellent organisational skills

E A/I

Numeracy and ability to understand quantitative experimental data

E A/I

Attention to detail E A/I

Technical aptitude E A/I

3. Experience

Experience working with children in a clinical or a research setting

D A/I

Experience collecting data on human visual or sensory function,

D A/I

Experience working in a developmental or vision research lab

D A/I

Experience analysing and presenting experimental data

D A/I

Experience developing or validating new tests, or collecting age norms

D A/I

4. Knowledge

Some knowledge of methods for analysing perceptual (psychophysical) data from human participants

E A/I

Knowledge of computer packages for word processing and basic data presentation and analysis (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint; SPSS)

E A/I

4. Conditions of Appointment

Appointment

The post is graded as Grade 6B, spine points 24 to 26 (salary range £27,907 to £29,435 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance). Starting salary is dependent on the successful candidate’s skills and knowledge relevant to the post. Cost of living pay awards are negotiated nationally and are normally effective from 1 st^ August each year. Funds are available for 36 months in the first instance.

Location

The post will be based at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and at the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre (RDCEC) situated between Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. The post may also involve some collaborative work and testing in other locations and UCL departments in London.

Criminal Record Bureau check

Any offer of employment will be subject to a Criminal Record Bureau check.

Equal Opportunities

Our policy includes the provision that in recruitment, the only consideration must be that the individual meets or is likely to meet the genuine requirements of the job. No one will be discriminated against on the basis of gender, age, race, colour, ethnic origin, physical disability, marital status, sexual orientation, caring or parental responsibilities, or belief in any matters including religion and politics.

General Information:

Please note that, within reason, the duties and role of the post-holder may be changed after appropriate consultation in response to changing organisational requirements. The post-holder will be eligible to join a contributory occupational pension scheme. All staff must maintain an awareness and observation of Fire and Health & Safety Regulations. They should actively follow all UCL policies including Equal Opportunities, attend staff meetings and undertake such training as is required by the post.

For further information about the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, please visit our website at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioo/

Details of how to apply for the post

Applications should be made online at the following link: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs

Closing date for applications: 5.00 pm on Friday July 13 th 2011

Interviews are scheduled for the week of August 15 th^ 2011.

The UCL community

UCL has over 18,000 students from over 140 countries and employs over 8,000 staff, including 3,800 plus academic staff. In total, there are 70 Academic Departments and Institutes whose activities span the following: arts and humanities, social and historical sciences, law, architecture and the built environment, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, life and clinical sciences, and medicine. UCL’s academic and research staff are a truly international community with more than a quarter coming from 84 countries outside the UK.

UCL’s annual turnover exceeded £485m in the latest financial year. Over 12, undergraduates and 7,000 graduate students study at UCL, of whom over 25% come from 130 countries outside the UK. UCL offers 275 undergraduate programmes and more than 220 taught postgraduate programmes as well as the opportunity to carry out postgraduate research in all of its subjects.

UCL has the highest number of professors of any university in the UK, an academic community including 35 Fellows of the Royal Society, 27 Fellows of the British Academy, 13 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and 75 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 18 academic staff and graduates.

Quality of UCL’s teaching and research

Medicine, architecture, laws, economics, computer science and philosophy are among the academic disciplines at UCL to have achieved outstanding results in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, with UCL’s total number of full-time equivalent staff rated of world-leading quality third overall in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge.

The RAE assesses the research strength of UK universities, and informs the distribution of public funds to the sector by the nation’s higher education funding bodies. UCL submitted more than 1,800 staff in 49 of the 67 Units of Assessment. In the vast majority of UCL’s submissions, at least 50% of the staff submitted were ranked at either the highest grade of 4* (‘of world-leading quality’), or 3* (‘internationally excellent’).

Recent independent analysis of the Thomson Scientific Citation Index system – which catalogues journal articles and citations in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities – showed the extent to which our activity is informing the agenda for research worldwide. It demonstrated that UCL is the second most productive and the third most highly cited European university, and the UK university most-cited by health researchers. In neuroscience we have a historic and contemporary international reputation that is second to none.

We have also enjoyed exceptional success in competitive bidding for funds from the government’s Joint Infrastructure Fund, the Science Research Investment Fund and the Capital Investment Fund. On the basis of research excellence and volume, we are investing more than £360 million in state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilitating cutting-edge research across a broad range of disciplines.

We are world leaders across the breadth of academic disciplines – from neuroscience to urban planning, particle physics to health informatics and environmental law – and we have an ongoing commitment to innovation and relevance.

UCL is consistently rated among the top four universities in the UK (together with Cambridge, Imperial College and Oxford) and was recently ranked as the 4th^ best university in the world (above Imperial College and Oxford).