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Job Title: Senior Research Fellow
Department: General Practice, RCSI
Reporting to: Professor Patrick Redmond
Location: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin
Contract/Duration Up to 36 months (0.6 FTE)
Remuneration: €50,405 per annum
Closing Date: Thursday 15th October
About PRiCAN
PRiCAN (Primary Care Research into Cancer) is a multidisciplinary research team aimed at enhancing early cancer detection, diagnosis, and outcomes in primary care settings. Beyond the immediate project, you will be part of a broader program of research in primary care and cancer, with opportunities to contribute to trials, observational studies, and multidisciplinary initiatives.
PRiCAN integrates a wide array of research activities, including:
• Developing and testing digital health interventions to improve patient engagement and access to care.
• Exploring the integration of non-invasive biomarkers with the aim of conducting clinical trials to evaluate innovative screening strategies.
• Leveraging data science to assess the utility of general practice data for research and clinical care.
• Engaging with our public and patient involvement (PPI) group to ensure research is grounded in patient needs and experiences.
About Our Research
RCSI recognises that excellence in research is critical to the quality of its educational activities, its credibility, and, overall, to its mission to enhance human health. RCSI’s research strategy aims to build upon its strength in translational biomedical and clinical research to deliver transformational, high impact changes in health care. Targeting both Irish national and EU funding, along with increased collaboration with industry, is a major part of the RCSI research strategy. Forging increased collaboration between RCSI PIs and industry is of critical importance to achieving success in this area. RCSI is also committed to provide its researchers with the supports and developmental opportunities to enable them to continuously grow and support their overall career development.
About the Project
This position is funded through the FEDER-CAN (Quantifying “Missed Opportunities” in Cancer Diagnosis via Federated Analytics) study, led by Professor Patrick Redmond within PRiCAN (Primary Care Research into Cancer), based in the Department of General Practice at RCSI. FEDER-CAN is a programme of observational research designed to quantify potentially avoidable diagnostic delays in Irish primary care while establishing Ireland's capability for privacy-preserving international benchmarking. Using the CRADLE primary care research database (approximately 1.5 million patient records mapped to the OMOP Common Data Model), the project will replicate three internationally validated studies examining:
• Patterns of respiratory prescribing preceding lung cancer diagnosis.
• Cancer risk associated with platelet counts, including the upper “high-normal” range.
• Time to clinical action following elevated PSA results.
Alongside these analyses, the project will develop reusable OHDSI-compatible analytical protocols enabling federated analyses across international primary care databases without transferring patient-level data. The project directly supports Ireland's National Cancer Strategy and will provide evidence to inform earlier diagnosis, guideline development, and participation in international benchmarking initiatives including the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP).
Opportunities for Career Development
This position offers an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious epidemiologist or health data scientist to establish an international research profile in cancer epidemiology and primary care research.
The successful candidate will:
• Lead high-impact analyses using one of Ireland's largest primary care research databases.
• Develop expertise in OMOP, OHDSI, and federated analytics.
• Collaborate with internationally recognised researchers across Ireland, the UK, Australia and the wider OHDSI community.
• Publish in leading journals in primary care, cancer epidemiology and health data science.
• Present findings at major international conferences.
• Develop independent grant applications and contribute to future national and international funding programmes.
Summary of Post
The Senior Research Fellow will provide scientific leadership for the analytical delivery of the FEDER-CAN project under the direction of the Principal Investigator. The postholder will lead the implementation of complex observational analyses using the CRADLE primary care research database, translating published international methodologies into robust, reusable analytical protocols within the OMOP Common Data Model and OHDSI ecosystem. Beyond undertaking statistical analyses, the role will ensure methodological fidelity across three international replication studies, coordinate analytical activities with national and international collaborators, develop reusable federated analytical infrastructure, and lead the preparation of high-quality scientific outputs.
Specifically, the duties of the post are:
§ Lead the scientific implementation of all analytical work packages within the FEDER-CAN programme.
§ Design, implement and validate observational cohort and case-control studies using the CRADLE research database.
§ Develop and execute reproducible analytical pipelines using OMOP Common Data Model and OHDSI tools.
§ Define cohorts, phenotypes and clinical concepts using OHDSI ATLAS and associated analytical frameworks.
§ Conduct advanced statistical analyses including conditional logistic regression, Poisson regression, Cox proportional hazards models, Kaplan-Meier analyses, generalised estimating equations and diagnostic prediction analyses.
§ Interpret findings within the context of international literature and benchmark Irish estimates against published UK and Australian studies.
§ Develop reusable, version-controlled analytical protocols to support federated execution across international OMOP-standardised databases.
§ Coordinate methodological collaboration with national and international research partners, including OHDSI collaborators and the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership.
§ Lead preparation of peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, technical reports and policy briefings.
§ Contribute to grant reporting, project governance, ethics amendments and scientific documentation.
§ Supervise postgraduate students and provide mentorship to junior researchers where appropriate.
§ Contribute to the strategic development of PRiCAN's health data science programme and future research funding applications.
§ Represent the research programme at national and international scientific meetings.
Qualifications – (Essential):
§ PhD in epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, medical statistics, data science, health informatics, or a closely related discipline.
§ Demonstrated experience conducting observational health research using routinely collected healthcare data.
§ Strong publication record appropriate to career stage in peer-reviewed international journals.
§ Advanced statistical programming skills using R and/or Python, with experience analysing large healthcare datasets.
§ Experience applying regression modelling and survival analysis to epidemiological research.
§ Experience managing complex research projects and delivering multiple workstreams simultaneously.
§ Excellent scientific writing skills, including preparation of manuscripts, technical reports and grant documentation.
§ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
Knowledge & Experience – (Desirable):
§ Experience working with the OMOP Common Data Model and OHDSI analytical tools.
§ Experience using SQL and relational healthcare databases.
§ Experience with primary care electronic health record data.
§ Knowledge of cancer epidemiology, diagnostic research, or early cancer detection.
§ Experience conducting international collaborative research.
§ Experience supervising postgraduate students or junior researchers.
§ Familiarity with reproducible research methodologies, version control (e.g. Git), and open science principles.
§ Experience contributing to competitive research grant applications.
§ Knowledge of Irish healthcare systems, cancer pathways, or health services research.
We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application — we’d love to hear from you.
At RCSI, people are at the heart of everything we do. Watch our short video to discover our culture, values, and shared commitment to making a meaningful impact on health worldwide. RCSI: Ensemble - RCSI: Ensemble - Body Meets Mind.
Application Process
Please apply online through the RCSI careers portal on the closing date with your CV and cover letter.
Click here to read our Recruitment and Selection Policy for Researcher.
Informal Enquiries:
Informal enquiries are invited in the first instance through Clarissa Disconzi, Human Resources Department (email: clarissadisconzi@rcsi.com). All applications for this post must be made through the career's webpage www.rcsi.com/careers. Clarissa can arrange for relevant queries to be addressed by the hiring manager. Please note that we do not accept CVs directly.
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