Clinical Trial Assistant (Undergraduate Placement Year)

The Institute of Cancer Research is looking for a Clinical Trial Assistant (Placement) to work in the Investigator Initiated Trials (IIT) Team, which is part of the Drug Development Unit (DDU). The post offers an enthusiastic and well-motivated individual a chance to work in a motivated and supportive academic team that are at the forefront of Phase-I cancer trials.

As Clinical Trial Assistant, you will be required to assist with central, remote and onsite monitoring, filing and administrative support to the Clinical Trial Managers, Clinical Research Associates, Clinical Data Analysts, Sample Coordinator and Pharmacovigilance officer.

Key Requirements

The successful candidate should be doing a medical, life science, nursing or pharmacy equivalent degree and looking for a placement year work experience (sandwich year) as part of the undergraduate degree. They should be motivated, be able to work independently, have excellent attention to detail, as well as being organised with good logistical/planning skills and be able to prioritise effectively. They should also be able to develop effective working relationships, have excellent verbal and written communication and good IT skills. It is also desirable that the applicant has experience of organising their own workload and some form of administrative or clerical experience or experience in maintaining efficient filing systems.

Department/Directorate Information:

Drug Development Unit – Investigator Initiated Trials team.

The Drug Development Unit, led by Professor Johann de Bono aims to seamlessly integrate preclinical drug discovery, proof-of-principle phase I trials and tumour-specific evaluation of novel agents. It is a conduit for the two-way communication between laboratory and clinical teams that is so essential for successful modern drug development. The unit conducts first-in-man phase I trials involving a range of targets, including growth factor or intracellular signalling, angiogenesis, apoptosis, epigenetics and DNA repair. All trials are underpinned by extensive analysis of biomarkers, both predictive and pharmacodynamics. The DDU includes The Oak Foundation Drug Development Centre (Oak Ward) housed within The Royal Marsden at the Sutton site and specifically designed for phase I clinical trials. Opened in February 2005, the centre provides 10 inpatient beds, five treatment chairs and two outpatient suites, and allows researchers to enter almost 300 patients onto phase I trials each year. This makes the unit one of the largest of its kind in the world. 

The DDU also has a portfolio of investigator-initiated phase 1 trials (IIT’s) of novel targeted agents and combinations of these, including those made available via Cancer Research-UK’s (CRUK) Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) Combinations Alliance. These studies are centrally managed by the IIT team within the DDU that performs those functions associated with sponsoring early phase trials including project management, monitoring, pharmacovigilance, database development and central data review. The successful applicant will support the Senior Clinical Data Analyst in overseeing data management activities of the IIT team. 

For more information on the department of Clinical Studies or the DDU, see:

https://www.icr.ac.uk/research-and-discoveries/icr-divisions/clinical-studies/the-adult-drug-development-unit-at-the-icr-and-the-rm

https://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/our-research/our-research-facilities/oak-foundation-drug-development-unit 

To apply for this post, please submit an online application including a supporting statement, detailing reasons why you are applying for the post and attach your CV.