Job summary
Applications are invited for a motivated and skilled Computing Clinical Scientist to support the Real-World Evidence (RWE) research ambitions of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) within the Scientific Computing team of Radiotherapy Physics at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and operating the research informatics infrastructure that underpins a pioneering programme of Real-World Evidence research, with a particular focus on the secure, ethical, and efficient use of anonymised clinical data. The role will involve close collaboration with clinical, research, and digital teams to expand the Trusted Research Environment (TRE), implement AI-based technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), and integrate data quality profiling tools to enhance both research and clinical care pathways.
You will play a key role in optimising processes for rapid access to real-world data to support innovative clinical trials and ensure data quality across structured and complex datasets. The position offers opportunities to work with national and international partners, contribute to research publications, and support the implementation of novel analytics and decision support tools into clinical workflows. The post holder will have a computing-related specialism (e.g. Clinical Scientific Computing, Clinical Informatics) or medical physics with experience in computing and will ideally be HCPC registered.
Main duties of the job
Scientific Computing Support
The successful candidate will aid the team in delivering scientific computing solutions for a range of radiotherapy physics projects. This will include supporting other members of the physics team in their computing work. They will be responsible for pushing the development of the research informatics infrastructure from The Christie in collaboration with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre.
Radiotherapy Systems and Data Management
The post holder will ensure all work complies with relevant UK legislation and standards (e.g., IRR 2017, IRMER 2017, MDR, GDPR). They will optimise processes for rapid, secure access to real-world data and support the integration and governance of data flows with regional and national Secure Data Environments (SDEs).
Clinical Implementation and Evaluation
The candidate will facilitate the implementation of novel analytics and AI-based decision support tools into the clinical workflow. They will develop strategies for embedded evaluation of new clinical technologies.
Supervision
The role includes supervision of trainee clinical scientists and dosimetrists, as well as prioritising and managing a diverse range of scientific computing projects with varying complexity.
Research & Development
The successful candidate will support hypothesis-generating and clinically relevant discovery research using large retrospective patient cohorts. They will contribute to research proposals, funding applications, and publications.
About us
The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Job description
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
General
- Ensure all work complies with current UK legislation for work with ionising radiation (IRR 2017, IRMER 2017) and the Trusts ISO 9K2K-compliant quality management system for provision of radiotherapy.
- The post holder will be expected to prioritise and manage their own work on a day-to-day basis.
- The post holder must participate in an agreed scheme of continuing professional development (CPD).
Data access and quality
- Work with investigators to develop and operate a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for cancer data at the MCRC, including expanded and novel linked health, biological (e.g. mutation analysis) and additional (e.g. environmental) data sources.
- Develop and implement AI based technologies to enrich TRE data, including application of NLP technologies to free-text data in the medical record, and interrogation of imaging and other complex data sources.
- Optimise the clinical processes and tools, both technical and governance focussed, needed for rapid access to RWD.
- Support development of research studies with the GM and NW SDEs, and using national data repositories, including linkage and governance aspects of the projects.
- Implement and further apply data quality assessment tools and support their use to drive data quality improvement initiatives and assess the quality of structured data sources, including comparison to ground truth clinical notes.
Clinical implementation
- Facilitate and support the implementation of novel research-developed analytics software, including AI and decision support tools, into the clinical workflow.
- Develop and implement strategies for the embedded evaluation of new clinical technologies, including the use of RWD to assess impact on clinical outcomes.
- Support clinical investigators with the design and implementation of pragmatic prospective trials to evaluate and optimise the efficacy of new treatment strategies for all patients.
Cross-disciplinary working
- Work collaboratively across Christie clinical, digital, CRUKMI scientific computing, and research teams as RadNet projects dictate to operate and administer computing infrastructure.
- Collaborate with key UoM and external partners to deliver and further develop research partnerships
- Work with investigators and the wider national and international RWD communities to understand and address barriers to expanded use of RWE in cancer research.
- To participate in the development and maintenance of common training resources for medical staff, radiographers and physicists
Research
- Support hypothesis-generating and clinically relevant discovery research in large retrospective patient cohorts.
- Contribute to the development of research proposals and funding applications.
- Support research publications.
Management
- Assist programme manager with administration of programme resources, documentation and reporting.
- The post holder will be expected to prioritise and manage their own work on a day-to-day basis.
- The post holder must be and must remain registered as a clinical scientist and complete of an agreed scheme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
- The place of work is normally The Christie but the appointee may be expected to spend a few weeks a year in other collaborating centres.
- The post is full-time. Hours are worked flexibly, in agreement with the line manager.
Job description
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
General
- Ensure all work complies with current UK legislation for work with ionising radiation (IRR 2017, IRMER 2017) and the Trusts ISO 9K2K-compliant quality management system for provision of radiotherapy.
- The post holder will be expected to prioritise and manage their own work on a day-to-day basis.
- The post holder must participate in an agreed scheme of continuing professional development (CPD).
Data access and quality
- Work with investigators to develop and operate a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for cancer data at the MCRC, including expanded and novel linked health, biological (e.g. mutation analysis) and additional (e.g. environmental) data sources.
- Develop and implement AI based technologies to enrich TRE data, including application of NLP technologies to free-text data in the medical record, and interrogation of imaging and other complex data sources.
- Optimise the clinical processes and tools, both technical and governance focussed, needed for rapid access to RWD.
- Support development of research studies with the GM and NW SDEs, and using national data repositories, including linkage and governance aspects of the projects.
- Implement and further apply data quality assessment tools and support their use to drive data quality improvement initiatives and assess the quality of structured data sources, including comparison to ground truth clinical notes.
Clinical implementation
- Facilitate and support the implementation of novel research-developed analytics software, including AI and decision support tools, into the clinical workflow.
- Develop and implement strategies for the embedded evaluation of new clinical technologies, including the use of RWD to assess impact on clinical outcomes.
- Support clinical investigators with the design and implementation of pragmatic prospective trials to evaluate and optimise the efficacy of new treatment strategies for all patients.
Cross-disciplinary working
- Work collaboratively across Christie clinical, digital, CRUKMI scientific computing, and research teams as RadNet projects dictate to operate and administer computing infrastructure.
- Collaborate with key UoM and external partners to deliver and further develop research partnerships
- Work with investigators and the wider national and international RWD communities to understand and address barriers to expanded use of RWE in cancer research.
- To participate in the development and maintenance of common training resources for medical staff, radiographers and physicists
Research
- Support hypothesis-generating and clinically relevant discovery research in large retrospective patient cohorts.
- Contribute to the development of research proposals and funding applications.
- Support research publications.
Management
- Assist programme manager with administration of programme resources, documentation and reporting.
- The post holder will be expected to prioritise and manage their own work on a day-to-day basis.
- The post holder must be and must remain registered as a clinical scientist and complete of an agreed scheme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
- The place of work is normally The Christie but the appointee may be expected to spend a few weeks a year in other collaborating centres.
- The post is full-time. Hours are worked flexibly, in agreement with the line manager.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oHCPC registration as a clinical scientist (or clear equivalence)
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- oExperience with clinical and imaging databases
- oExperience working in computational aspects of radiotherapy physics and/or research
- oAssessment of clinical data quality
- oExperience using data standards (e.g. DICOM, HL7, FHIR)
Desirable
- oExperience in statistical analysis of real-world medical data
- oSupervision and/or teaching
- oTreatment planning experience
- oClinical research experience (e.g. in randomised controlled trials)
- oExperience in the use of pragmatic trial designs
- oExperience with DevOps tools such as Git and Docker
Skills
Essential
- oProficiency with computer programming languages (e.g. python) for data analysis
- oMultidisciplinary team working
- oClinical implementation and management of software systems
Desirable
- oManagement and administration of complex computer systems, including hardware
- oScientific report writing/track record of publications in scientific journals and conferences.
- oClinical implementation of AI solutions
- oUse and/or operation of Trusted Research Environments
Knowledge
Essential
- oKnowledge of radiotherapy physics
- oUnderstanding of the role of computational systems in radiotherapy
- oKnowledge of relevant legislation, national standards, and professional guidelines (e.g. IRR'99, IRMER 2000, ISO:9K2K, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IPEM Codes of Practice, GDPR, Data Protection Act)
Desirable
- oTheoretical Machine Learning / AI and statistics knowledge
- oUnderstanding of principles of causal inference
- oThe national NHSE Secure Data Environment (SDE) network
- oKnowledge and experience of using formal research methods.
VALUES
Essential
- oAbility to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Essential
- oRecord of dissemination / publication of scientific work
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oHCPC registration as a clinical scientist (or clear equivalence)
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- oExperience with clinical and imaging databases
- oExperience working in computational aspects of radiotherapy physics and/or research
- oAssessment of clinical data quality
- oExperience using data standards (e.g. DICOM, HL7, FHIR)
Desirable
- oExperience in statistical analysis of real-world medical data
- oSupervision and/or teaching
- oTreatment planning experience
- oClinical research experience (e.g. in randomised controlled trials)
- oExperience in the use of pragmatic trial designs
- oExperience with DevOps tools such as Git and Docker
Skills
Essential
- oProficiency with computer programming languages (e.g. python) for data analysis
- oMultidisciplinary team working
- oClinical implementation and management of software systems
Desirable
- oManagement and administration of complex computer systems, including hardware
- oScientific report writing/track record of publications in scientific journals and conferences.
- oClinical implementation of AI solutions
- oUse and/or operation of Trusted Research Environments
Knowledge
Essential
- oKnowledge of radiotherapy physics
- oUnderstanding of the role of computational systems in radiotherapy
- oKnowledge of relevant legislation, national standards, and professional guidelines (e.g. IRR'99, IRMER 2000, ISO:9K2K, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IPEM Codes of Practice, GDPR, Data Protection Act)
Desirable
- oTheoretical Machine Learning / AI and statistics knowledge
- oUnderstanding of principles of causal inference
- oThe national NHSE Secure Data Environment (SDE) network
- oKnowledge and experience of using formal research methods.
VALUES
Essential
- oAbility to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Essential
- oRecord of dissemination / publication of scientific work
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
