King's College London

About us:

This post is one of several new appointments in the Data & Digital Alliance Team (DIGIT) of the Mental Health Goals Programme. DIGIT-MHG is part of a UKRI funded programme to create an innovative alliance between people with mental health conditions – whose views are often not prioritised – and industry – who face unparalleled challenges in mental health R&D – to accelerate precision psychiatry and deliver valuable new treatments that work for those who need them.

The MHG Innovative Trials Hub within DIGIT is a cross-cutting translational platform that accelerates the evaluation and adoption of innovations through modern trial design, integrated delivery infrastructure, portfolio governance, and partnerships across industry, academia and the NHS.

The post is based in the Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics in the School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.  The Department has been a major force in the development of quantitative methodology as applied to mental health research. We have significant national and international collaborations, and our research has growing impact into all areas of medicine particularly through expertise in trials and software development.  

The appointee will work the King’s Clinical Trials Unit (KCTU), the UKCRC registered CTU within King’s College London and Partner Trusts in King’s Health Partners. KCTU supports trials in all disease areas with specialist strength in mental health, neuroscience, rheumatology, transplantation and ophthalmology.

About the role:

We are seeking an outstanding Senior Research Fellow in early-phase trials to provide statistical and methodological leadership for the Mental Health Goals Programme’s Innovative Trials Hub, within the Data & Digital Alliance Team.

Reporting to Professor Richard Emsley, lead for the Innovative Trials Hub, the post holder will work closely with industry partners, academic collaborators and NHS stakeholders in the Mental Health Goals Programme to design and support early-phase studies. This will include contributing to trial design, protocol development, statistical analysis plans, regulatory interactions, funding applications, commercial proposals and dissemination of findings.

The role will focus on early-phase clinical trial methodology, including support for studies of new compounds and digital therapeutics using designs such as PK/PD studies, Bayesian model-based dose-finding approaches, adaptive designs and master protocols, including basket and umbrella trials.

You will be expected to build productive collaborations across academia, industry and the NHS, contribute to strategic portfolio development, and support education, mentoring and capacity development within Biostatistics and Health Informatics. This is an opportunity for an experienced clinical trials statistician or methodologist to shape the delivery of innovative mental health trials, influence national and international practice, and contribute to a major programme with clear potential for patient benefit and health system impact.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30th March 2029 in the first instance. 

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. A PhD in statistics, biostatistics, clinical trials methodology, epidemiology, or another relevant quantitative discipline.
2. Extensive experience leading statistical input into clinical trials, including design, conduct, analysis and reporting
3. Track record of established contributions to methodology for innovative early-phase trial designs  
4. Extensive experience of working with industry and external partners
5. Strong quantitative and programming skills (e.g. Stata, R or SAS) and experience of applying simulation and other quantitative methods to clinical trials research.
6. Evidence of high-quality peer-reviewed publications and contributions to successful grant applications or externally funded research
7. Excellent communication, leadership and collaborative skills

Desirable criteria

1. Experience applying clinical trials methodology within mental health, neuroscience, behavioural interventions, or other complex long-term conditions
2. Working knowledge of clinical trial regulations and guidance, including International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use E9/E9(R1), GCP and MHRA requirements.
3. Evidence of methodological innovation that has informed clinical trial practice, guidance, policy, or national or international collaborations
4. Experience supervising postgraduate researchers, mentoring early career methodologists, or contributing to training and professional development programmes. 

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information:

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We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

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