Clinical Researcher: Psychopharmacology Emotion and Research Laboratory (PERL)

University of Oxford - Department of Psychiatry

Location: Oxford

Salary: £38,831 to £73,992 per annum. Grade E63

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 27th February 2026

Closes: 12th March 2026

Job Ref: 185071

Location: Warneford Hospital, Oxford

The University of Oxford is a stimulating work environment, which enjoys an international reputation as a world-class centre of excellence. Our research plays a key role in tackling many global challenges, from reducing our carbon emissions to developing vaccines during a pandemic.

The Department of Psychiatry is based on the Warneford Hospital site in Oxford – a friendly, welcoming place of work with an international reputation for excellence. The Department has a substantial research programme, with major funding from Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and provides highly rated medical training in psychiatry. The Head of Department is Professor Belinda Lennox.

We are looking for a Clinical Researcher to join the Psychopharmacology and Research Lab based at the Warneford Hospital to work across a number of large-scale collaborative projects funded by the Wellcome Trust.

About the Role

The post is funded for 2 years from August 2026 and is based in the Department of Psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital. It is full time although consideration would be given to candidates wishing to work part-time on a pro rata basis (minimum 80% FTE).

Due to the nature of the role, the postholder would be expected to work on-site 3-4 days per week.

The role includes medical oversight of a number of studies involving administration of psychotropic agents as well as leading work exploring the effect of an orexin antagonist on neural, cognitive and behavioural markers of sleep and emotion. You would be involved in all aspects of the research from design through to analysis and publication.

About You

You will be medically qualified, with current GMC registration and have completed your core psychiatry training. You will have demonstrable experience of working with individuals with mental health disorders, particularly mood disorders. Excellent data analysis skills, including experience of dealing with complex data sets is essential as is experience in working with and programming cognitive tasks.

Training in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and experience with gaining approvals and communicating with regulatory and approval bodies (such as ethics committees, MHRA, NHS R&D departments) and knowledge of psychopharmacology and experimental medicine approaches would be desirable.

Diversity

Committed to equality and valuing diversity

Our active Psychiatry People and Culture teams and initiatives including our values and behaviours framework, work to make the Department of Psychiatry as supportive, welcoming and inclusive as possible.

Application Process

You will be required to upload a covering letter/supporting statement, CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application. Please see the University pages on the application process at https://www.jobs.ox.ac.uk/application-process

The closing date for applications is 12:00 midday on 12 March 2026

It is anticipated that interviews will take place on 30 March and will be face to face.