Pain Centre Versus Arthritis

Vacancies in Arthritis Pain Research

Vacancies

Research Associate/Fellow (Fixed-term)

School of Health Sciences

Location: 

UK Other

Salary:

 £28,762 to £43,414 per annum, (pro rata if applicable) depending on skills and experience (minimum £32348 with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance

Closing Date: 

 Monday 27 February 2023

Reference: 

MED029523

Find out more and apply for the job

We are looking to recruit an individual with a background in neuroscience and or arthritis, and experience with in vivo models, ideally with an interest in the mechanisms of pain and / or arthritic diseases.  This project builds upon our previous funded research investigating the role of the resolution of inflammation in chronic osteoarthritis pain. This project seeks to identify the therapeutic potential of small noncoding RNAs for the treatment of chronic osteoarthritis pain.  This project is funded by the Advanced Pain Discovery Platform, which will provide the successful applicant opportunities to engage with the wider pain community across the UK and beyond.  For more information: https://apdp.sixcircles.co/

This post will be embedded within the wider pain research team funded by this project, which includes clinical research, analytical sciences, molecular and cellular neuroscience, RNA biology, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics.  In this role, you will use models of osteoarthritis pain and patients’ tissues and fluids to address the aim of this exciting project.  Full training will be provided, as required.  Experience of in vivo methods in rodents, including the generation of rodent models of human disease and the assessment of behavioural changes will be ideally matched to this research project.  An interest in, or desire to learn, transcriptomics and bioinformatic analysis and the forward and back-translation of datasets will be welcomed, as will an interest in working in collaboration with cellular biologists on the implementation of in vitro models of neuronal sensitisation. We hope to recruit somebody who brings new skills to our project to strengthen our research team and provide new opportunities for novel ways of thinking.  The successful candidate will work closely with Eli Lilly, providing exposure, to and benefit from, the pharmaceutical sector.

The Pain Centre Versus Arthritis at the University of Nottingham provides a vibrant environment for pain and neuroscience research, facilitating forward and back-translational studies investigating the mechanisms of osteoarthritis pain with the goal of improving the treatment of pain (see: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/paincentre).  

Candidates must hold, be near to completion of, or studying towards a PhD or equivalent in an appropriate subject (e.g. pharmacology, neuroscience, physiology, biochemistry). Candidates should have a strong background in neuroscience research with a focus on animal models of human disease, ideally including knowledge of pain processing and mechanisms of chronic pain or arthritic disease.  Experience of transcriptomics and a desire to build upon pre-existing skillsets is encouraged.

This is a full-time (36.25 hours), fixed-term post for 2 years. Job share arrangements may be considered.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to victoria.chapman@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

 

PhD Studentship

School of Computer Science

Quantifying the risk of serious harms among people prescribed opioids for chronic pain using federated analytics with big healthcare data

Although opioids are beneficial for acute pain and in end-of-life care, their use for chronic pain remains controversial. Opioid prescribing in the UK has greatly increased in the past twenty years. Studies show that opioids have been prescribed too frequently for many patients with chronic pain incurring substantial healthcare costs. It has also become apparent that long-term use of opioids can be associated with serious harms, including addiction, overdose and death. Electronic health records, big data from CPRD, the UK Biobank, and federated infrastructures that collect big data sources regarding pain management have created opportunities to understand opioid use nationally and to develop advanced intelligent big data approaches for predicting opioid usage risks. 

Our aim is therefore to develop intelligent federated analytics approaches to assess whether these serious harms can be predicted using routinely collected data from UK primary care electronic health records and pain management data. The project will determine which information about the person, their medicine-taking behaviours and prescribing patterns that are associated with serious harms. 

Applicants will be expected to have a background in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Epidemiology or a relevant discipline with a significant data analysis component. Previous experience of analysis of large data sources ideally in a healthcare background would be an advantage. 

Supervisors: Dr Grazziela Figueredo (School of Computer Science), Dr Roger Knaggs (School of Pharmacy).

For further details and to arrange an interview please contact Dr Grazziela Figueredo.

Find out more and apply for the studentship

Pain Centre Versus Arthritis

Clinical Sciences Building
City Hospital
Nottingham, NG5 1PB

telephone: +44 (0) 115 823 1766 ext 31766
fax: +44 (0) 115 823 1757
email: paincentre@nottingham.ac.uk