Research Assistant (CAMHR)

University of Hull - Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research (CAMHR)

We are seeking a self-motivated and experienced research assistant to join the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research (CAMHR) at the University of Hull on a 12-month fixed term contract. CAMHR is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Research Group comprised of a highly experienced consortium of researchers. Under the leadership of Professor Thomas Phillips, Professor of Nursing in Addiction and Professor Judith Cohen, Director of Hull Health Trials Unit (HHTU), the research team has secured a five-year award, supported by our partners at the University of York and King’s College London, to develop addiction and mental health research.

Our area covers a population of 1.7 million people from cities, market towns, rural villages and coastal communities across the Humber and North Yorkshire. It includes areas that experience high levels of unemployment, housing problems and wider health difficulties who have poor access to effective mental health and substance use treatment. We will target national priorities and the mental health needs of our local population, resulting in better access to care and treatment that works. Working closely with health and social care providers as well as patients and the public, we have developed an ambitious programme of research across three themes:

Theme 1: Improving care pathways and outcomes for young people with substance use and mental health problems

Theme 2: Improving care pathways for adults with substance use disorder and mental health problems presenting to emergency departments

Theme 3: Defining the needs of adults with alcohol-related cognitive impairment

Theme 1 aims to improve care for young people experiencing substance use and mental health problems, by co-designing and testing a new intervention service model to specifically support this group. Theme 2 aims to improve care for adults who have substance use disorder (SUD) and urgent mental health problems (MHP) at the point of seeking help in an emergency and focusses on the improvement of care pathways for adults presenting with SUD and MHP to emergency departments. Theme 3 will define the needs of those experiencing alcohol-related cognitive impairment (ARCI) and will help services to identify and care for people with ARCI earlier so that longer term problems can be avoided.

The postholder will support the Research Fellows and broader research team to deliver the work of the themes through a range of activities, including contribution to systematic and scoping reviews through literature and database searches, screening papers and contributing to report writing; supporting the development of research projects through assisting with protocol development, seeking regulatory approvals, and contributing to the development of study documents.

The postholder may also support the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Coordinators to develop and deliver stakeholder networks and lived experience advisory groups.

The ideal candidate will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, knowledge and skills in relation to conducting literature reviews, experience in delivering clinical research, and experience engaging with vulnerable people in clinical or research settings.

Please upload a CV and cover letter describing how you meet the person specification for this job in the Resume/CV section of the online application form.

For more information regarding the role please view the job description here.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Philippa Case (Senior Research Fellow) at p.c.case@hull.ac.uk and Amy Foster (Finance & Operations Officer) at a.foster3@hull.ac.uk for additional information.