An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Medical Doctor to work within the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC), to support and conduct clinical research including clinical trials and to participate in specialised clinical and diagnostic activities mainly focused on Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
The JWMDRC is a centre for translational research in genetic neuromuscular diseases with around 90 team members and has a long tradition of excellence in research, diagnosis, and management of neuromuscular diseases.
The post will provide a unique opportunity for you to gain experience in the diagnosis and management of patients with FSHD and other neuromuscular disorders, as well as to plan and deliver research both at the clinical and preclinical level.
To apply, you are required to have a medical degree from a recognised medical school, a GMC licence to practise and experience in medical history taking, patient assessment and medical record keeping in accordance with GCP guidelines.
You will play a key role in conducting natural history studies and clinical trials in patients with FSHD and other neuromuscular disorders acting as sub-investigator, being involved in the selection of patients, consenting, and recruitment, delivery of study visits and procedures and safety monitoring. This will allow you to develop clinical skills in the field of neuromuscular medicine, learn about outcome measures, muscle imaging, and ethical issues in conducting GCP compliant clinical research in rare neuromuscular diseases.
In addition, you will be able to participate in a range of different paediatric and adult neuromuscular outpatient clinics across the North of England, and gain exposure to state-of-the-art diagnostics for genetic neuromuscular diseases, as well as to updated multi-disciplinary management of these cohorts of patients. You will participate in the analysis of clinical and muscle imaging data of the large cohort of patients followed up in the centre and elsewhere. Moreover, you will have the opportunity to be involved in basic and translational research studies done at the centre and focused on the study of the pathomechanisms behind muscle degeneration in FSHD and the identification of potential new therapies for this disease.
