Department : Biology Vacancy ID : 025483 Closing Date : 05-Nov-2023

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued.

The Family Genomics research group led by Dr Lorna Lopez, in collaboration with behavioural neuroscientist Professor Andrew Coogan at Maynooth University invite applications for the position of Research Fellow on our Ambient-BD research project.

This project is led by the University of Edinburgh with co-investigators at Maynooth University, Ireland and the Technical University of Munich, Germany. It is funded by the Wellcome Trust (2023-2028).The purpose of Ambient-BD is to investigate the role of variability in long-term circadian rhythms in the trajectory of disease in people with bipolar disorder.

The initial development and validation studies will be carried out in Maynooth University and the clinical studies in people with bipolar disorder completed at the University of Edinburgh. There will be considerable collaboration between the two research sites throughout the project.

Bipolar disorder is defined by extreme variability in mood, activity, sleep and circadian timing recurring over weeks and months. The purpose of Ambient-BD is to optimise innovative ambient and passive methods for collection of circadian data and to test their feasibility and performance against gold standards. A lived experience advisory panel will help us to identify and prioritise clinical and functional outcome measures to co-produce low intensity methods for collecting these outcomes. In parallel, we will develop a data collection and data management system to support data collection and optimise data sharing with patients, clinicians and the research community. Our goal is to identify causal mechanisms by which sleep and circadian disruption leads to relapse in bipolar disorder. We will also deliver an innovative programme of knowledge exchange and dissemination in collaboration with Bipolar Scotland

We are seeking an enthusiastic and ambitious research fellow to join our research team to manage studies to develop novel methods for assessment of circadian rhythms. The successful candidate will work with us on cutting-edge research projects that focus on understanding how changes in the variability of circadian rhythms relate to human health and disease.

The research fellow will find ample opportunities to collaborate via our membership of circadian research collaborations in the UK, https://www.circadianmentalhealth.org/. They will be given support to develop their independent research career, including help with fellowship applications, building collaborations and research placements in other research groups.

This position is embedded in a collaboration across genetics, data science, chronobiology and psychiatry and the successful candidate will become a part of a large team of lived-experience advisors, patient advocates, PIs, postdocs, PhD students and research assistants working together to drive the field of chronopsychiatry forwards.

Salary

Research Fellow (2023): 61,318 63,096 p.a. pro-rata. (2 points with increment)

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions

Closing Date: 23:30hrs (local Irish time) on Sunday, 05th November 2023.

Please note all applications must be made via our Online Recruitment Portal at the following link: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/human-resources/vacancies

Please apply with your CV and a Cover letter that includes a brief summary of the following:

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified above. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Maynooth University is an equal opportunities employer

The position is subject to the Statutes of the University

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Research Fellow, Biology job with MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY | 354742 - Times Higher Education