Research Fellow in Evidence Synthesis

About us

The position will be within Professor Daisy Fancourt’s Social Biobehavioural Research Group, which focuses on the impact of social behaviours and connections on health. This includes social deficits (e.g., loneliness, isolation, and COVID-19 lockdowns) and social assets (e.g., social connections, cultural and community engagement, nature engagement and social prescribing).

About the role

This position is part of a €2 million Horizon project focusing on the impact of arts and cultural engagement on health, involving partners across Europe, UNESCO and the World Health Organization. The successful candidate will lead a portfolio of work undertaking systematic reviews of the evidence base and policy reports on arts and health, liaising with web developers who are developing online interactive evidence gap maps of the findings, producing summary reports on the strengths and gaps in the evidence base, supporting with the development of policy briefs.

Application Details:

• The position is available from 1^st April 2026 and is a fixed term contract with external funding until 31st March 2028 in the first instance.
• Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (£39,148 - £41,833 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 (£45,103 - £52,586 per annum) being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis with no corrections. Salaries are inclusive of London Allowance.
• This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.
• This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

Application Process:

• A full job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
• Please use the personal statement section to explain how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria outlined in the person specification

Contact Details:

• If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please contact Prof Daisy Fancourt (d.fancourt@ucl.ac.uk).
• If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact Maria Kristensen (m.kristensen@ucl.ac.uk).

About you

You should hold a PhD in any area of science, including psychology, social science, biomedical science or other relevant discipline, and have experience of leading on multiple large-scale systematic reviews of quantitative data. This should include producing PROSPERO records, undertaking searches, extracting data using tools such as Covidence, Rayyan or Elicit, undertaking quality appraisal of studies, and producing high-quality peer reviewed manuscripts. You should also have excellent oral and written communication, and excellent ability to work to deadlines.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits. Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

Customer advert reference: B02-10151

Advert information