Research Assistant/Associate

Salary: 

Research Assistant: £33,002 - £33,951 per annum

Research Associate: £35,608 - £40,049 per annum

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: 7 September 2025

The Role

The project, titled "Deprescribing Safety in Primary Care: developing a Community Pharmacy Safety Net and Feasibility Study," aims to establish patient and professional networks to support the development of a future feasibility study. This study will evaluate the role of a community pharmacy deprescribing safety net within primary care in the UK. The project will involve establishing an expert advisory group and a patient and PPIE group, conducting interviews, and developing communication channels between general practices and community pharmacies.

Your role will focus on developing a community pharmacy safety net intervention and designing a subsequent feasibility study to address problematic polypharmacy in the UK. With the increasing use of medicines, it has become progressively vital to ensure patients are continuously on the most appropriate medicine to avoid problematic polypharmacy. Deprescribing has been identified as a way to ensure this, but developing a method to ensure deprescribing safety is needed. You will work under the supervision of Dr Daniel Okeowo and other senior researchers to conduct qualitative research with patients and healthcare professionals, develop Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) networks and contribute to the planning and dissemination of the project.

You will join a vibrant interdisciplinary team of researchers within the Newcastle NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) (https://psrc-ncl.nihr.ac.uk) based in the School of Pharmacy at Newcastle University.

This post is a 3-day-per-week (0.6 FTE) fixed term for a period of 12 months.  

For informal enquiries contact: Dr Daniel Okeowo (daniel.okeowo@ncl.ac.uk) 

For informal enquiries about the Newcastle PSRC contact: psrc@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/ 

For more information about the School of Pharmacy, please visit:  https://www.ncl.ac.uk/pharmacy/.

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
• Recruit and manage PPIE and expert advisory groups, including organising and facilitating meetings
• Conduct qualitative interviews with patients and healthcare professionals

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
• Detailed subject knowledge in polypharmacy and deprescribing 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
• Experience conducting qualitative research
• Experience incorporating PPIE into research
• Basic understanding of UK care systems, particularly the role of community pharmacies in primary care

Desirable

• Experience working with NHS and HRA ethics
• Experience obtaining NHS patient consent
• Experience conducting research in healthcare settings

Attributes and Behaviour

Essential

• Ability to work unsupervised and on own initiative
• Flexibility and ability to multitask
• Consistent and appropriate approach to staff and situations
• Use of feedback for process improvement and staff development
• Team player, self-starter and able to manage complex workload
• Ability to respond enthusiastically and positively to students

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: 28477