Postdoctoral Research Associate

About the Role
Failures in the follow-up of diagnostic tests in primary care are an important and under-recognised patient safety issue, with potential consequences for timely diagnosis, including cancer. This role will contribute to an ambitious programme of research aimed at understanding and improving how diagnostic test results are managed and acted upon in primary care.

The postholder will lead a workstream within the I-FLOW project, focusing on identifying and synthesising evidence on interventions to improve test follow-up. This will involve conducting a high-quality scoping review of the literature and working closely with a multidisciplinary team to interpret findings alongside analyses of routine healthcare data. You will also support the design and delivery of a stakeholder workshop, bringing together clinicians, patients, and policymakers to inform practical solutions.

The role sits at the intersection of health services research, patient safety, and cancer early diagnosis. It offers an opportunity to contribute to research with clear real-world impact, while developing methodological and collaborative skills within a supportive academic environment.

About You
This role is ideally suited to a proactive and motivated researcher with a PhD (or near completion) in a relevant discipline such as health services research, public health, health psychology, or medical sociology.

With experience of conducting literature reviews, and a good understanding of research design and methods within applied health research. Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage your own workload to agreed timelines are essential, alongside excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Comfortable working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team and contributing to academic outputs, including peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Experience or interest in primary care research, patient safety, or healthcare quality improvement would be advantageous, as would experience engaging stakeholders or working across research and practice settings.

About the School/Department/Institute/Project
The Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis within Wolfson Institute of Population Health brings together leading researchers focused on cancer prevention, screening, detection, and early diagnosis. The Centre works closely with NHS partners and policy stakeholders to deliver research with meaningful impact on health systems and patient outcomes.

About Queen Mary
At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.

Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.

We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits
We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.

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