GLAD-NI Research Fellow

Queen's University Belfast; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Wellbeing support

Development opportunities

Job summary

Queen's University Belfast invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join Prof. Cherie Armour's STARC team in Belfast.

The 2.5-year appointment will support the GLAD-MHG study, a national precision psychiatry initiative focusing on depression and anxiety through omics, phenotyping and data linkage. The successful candidate will lead NI-based participant recruitment, psychosocial survey management, and data analyses, with opportunities for mentoring and collaboration across academia,

Qualifications

• Honours degree in Psychology or related discipline.
• PhD in Psychology or related discipline (or near completion).
• Significant recent research experience.
• Experience with multidisciplinary teams in research.
• Evidence of research techniques and analyses.
• Understanding of data confidentiality, security and sharing.
• Project management experience in academia.
• Experience presenting research nationally or internationally.

Responsibilities

• Recruit NI-based participants and manage psychosocial surveys.
• Lead data analyses and explore data-linkage across sites.
• Engage in mentoring and collaboration across academia, healthcare and industry.

Skills

Honours degree in Psychology

PhD in Psychology or related (Epidemi-

Education

Honours Degree in Psychology

PhD in Psychology, Epidemiology, Statistics or related

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher in to join Professor Cherie Armours internationally recognised team at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) on a 2.5-years appointment. This post will support the delivery of the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression – Mental Health Goals (GLAD-MHG) Study, one of the UK’s most ambitious precision psychiatry initiatives, hosted within the NIHR BioResource Centre Maudsley.

The GLAD-MHG Omics Cohort, builds on the existing NIHR BioResource GLAD Study (>38,000 participants). The new programme will recruit an additional 12,000 individuals with recurrent Major Depressive Disorder, including 2,500 with longitudinal biosampling. High-quality blood samples will be collected for whole-genome sequencing, epigenetics, and biomarker profiling, alongside detailed digital phenotyping (wearables, speech AI) and NHS medical record linkage. This is a four-nation partnership and this PDRA post will be based in Belfast.

This role will be based in the highly supportive research environment of the Stress, Trauma, and Related Conditions (STARC) research lab in the School of Psychology. The successful candidate based at QUB will be focused on the recruitment of NI based participants, the psychosocial survey management and data analyses, and the exploration of data-linkage across sites/Trusts. They will have formal mentoring and gain experience at the interface of academia, healthcare, and industry, contributing to discoveries that shape the future of our understanding of MDD and comorbidities.

About the Person

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Honours Degree in Psychology or related discipline. Hold or about to obtain a PhD in Psychology, Epidemiology, Statistics or related discipline.
• Significant recent relevant research experience.
• Experience of having worked with multidisciplinary teams (e.g., Medicine & Health Sciences) involved in research.
• Evidence of expertise in research techniques and analyses.
• Understanding of issues with data confidentiality/security/data sharing/data linkage.
• Project management experience preferably in an academic setting.
• Previous experience of presenting research nationally and/or internationally.
• A published peer reviewed publication record commensurate with career stage.

Fixed-term contract (available for 30 months or until 31 March 2029 whichever is soonest). Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

What we offer:

Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more at https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/HumanResources/pay-reward-and-benefits/ .

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality. For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit www.qub.ac.uk/diversity .

If you are an international applicant and don't already hold a visa that permits you to take up the role you are applying for, please use the information provided on our website to self-assess whether the University is likely to be able to support a visa application - http://go.qub.ac.uk/internationalstaffsupport .