Pre-Clinical Research Manager

Join Cure Parkinson's at this very exciting time for Parkinson's Research! The Preclinical Research Manager will be responsible for overseeing the generation of research related content for the CP research team and interacting with the research community to provide support and advice in their projects. 

The Main Purpose of the Role:

The Preclinical Research Manager will be responsible for overseeing the generation of research related content for the CP research team and interacting with the research community to provide support and advice in their projects (either being considered or funded by the charity).

Key Responsibilities:

• Working closely with the Director of Research whose main responsibility is the implementation and delivery of the Cure Parkinson’s research strategy.
• Generating Parkinson’s research-related material for a scientific audience, including:
  • Research reports for publication in scientific journals (such as our annual Drug Development Pipeline report – McFarthing et al, 2023).
  • Long format scientific justifications for CP funded clinical trials for the CP website.
  • Short format lay summaries of new research (with the Research Liaison and Research Communication Officers) for various CP platforms.
  • Preparation of posters of CP research for presentation at conferences (with the Research Comms Officer).
  • Facilitating the Research Liaison Officer’s development within this area.
• Regular monitoring of publications and developments in Parkinson’s research, communicating these topics internally to help generate relevant material for the CP website (with the Research Comms Officer and Marketing team).
• Supporting the Director of Research with the scoping, drafting and shaping of drug dossiers for consideration at the annual international Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) meeting.
• Working with the Director of Research and the Research Manager to develop and coordinate the annual iLCT Pipeline Research Acceleration Funding Programme call.
• Working with the Director of Research and the Research Manager to scope and develop a researcher portal for sharing non-confidential iLCT material.
• Leading on the development of scientific events, workshops and meetings (such as CP’s quarterly webinar series with the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease).

Person Specifications:

The successful applicant will need to work closely with other sections of the charity to understand and support the research needs of the organisation as a whole. For their primary function, they will ideally have:

• A PhD with experience in preclinical research related to Parkinson’s or neurodegeneration.
• A strong understanding of Parkinson’s disease biology and the current preclinical models (in vitro and in vivo) used to investigate it.
• Knowledge of the broader Parkinson’s research field, such as genetics, potential therapeutic targets and drugs currently in development.
• Significant experience in the management and leadership of group projects.
• Experience in the setting up and management of meeting and events.
• Excellent communication skills with experience in presenting at both academic meetings and to general audiences, across in-person and virtual formats.   
• Solid problem solving skills across varied settings.
• Experience of line management or equivalent.
• High motivation and willingness to embrace change.
• Willingness to travel overnight for some external meetings, occasionally internationally.

For success, the Research Team must be closely aligned and interact fully with all other teams at CP.