The Tessa Jowell Fellowships, hosted in collaboration with Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence (TJCE), are designed to support clinicians to address the needs of the future of neuro-oncology. The 12-month funded Fellowships aim to train highly skilled clinicians that are capable of appreciating the breadth of comprehensive brain tumour management and can integrate knowledge and experience in personalizing and optimising cancer care.
The intention is for the Fellow to gain experience with the ultimate objective of leading high impact practice changing neuro-oncology clinical trials in the future as a Chief Investigator. This particular fellowship is for a dedicate Neuro-Oncology Clinical Fellow within the Drug Development Unit at the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden.
The Institute of Cancer Research
The ICR is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. The scientists at the ICR have contributed to identifying several cancer genes, discovered multiple practice changing cancer drugs and have developed precision therapies. Together with our hospital partner The Royal Marsden (RM) , we are rated in the top four centres for cancer research and treatment worldwide. The ICR was ranked first in the UK for its research in biological sciences in a combined assessment of research quality, impact and environment; and overall, second in the UK among all higher Education institutions in REF 2021 analysis.
The Royal Marsden
The Royal Marsden is recognised worldwide for the quality of it cancer services. The Trust’s strategic aim is to achieve excellence in cancer treatment and diagnosis, through partnership and collaboration. The prime purpose of the Trust is the provision of state of the art cancer services as well as enabling research into the development of improved methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Its other main purpose is teaching and the dissemination of knowledge both nationally and internationally.
The Drug Development Unit,
The DDU within the ICR and Royal Marsden, is a dedicated Clinical Trials Unit, with bespoke facilities to conduct early phase clinical trials.
The Unit, led by Professor Johann de Bono, comprises of clinicians, scientists, data and study management staff, and focuses on providing a seamless conduit between pre-clinical drug discovery, proof of principle Phase-1 clinical trials and tumour specific evaluation of novel agents. The Unit undertakes both industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated trials of new anti-cancer drugs. The Unit is rapidly expanding and provides an excellent opportunity for the post holder to develop a variety of skillsets.
Summary of Role
TJBCM Fellowships are for applicants who are near completion of training in clinical or medical oncology. Applicants will need to be able to demonstrate that they meet the range of skills and experience outlined in the person specification.
The fellowship is focused on providing extensive clinical experience working with novel targeted therapies as well as experience in all aspects of Phase 1 trial conduct, over twelve months. Importance is placed on the longitudinal experience of managing brain tumours in these settings, in which clinical oncology trainees usually have approximately 4-months and medical oncology trainees have zero experience within a standard training programme. Fellows are further encouraged to gain experience and understanding of the multi-disciplinary approach to brain tumour management, with the opportunity to spend one day a week observing and learning from the various disciplines involved in brain tumour management.
The objective of the Tessa Jowell Drug Development Unit Fellowship is to offer the opportunity for a medical oncology (or clinical oncology) trainee who wishes to gain specific experience in early clinical trials with a specific focus on neuro-oncology. The post provides:
- extensive clinical experience working with novel targeted therapies in oncology(clinics, ward work and consultant ward rounds)
- experience in all aspects of Phase 1 trial conduct from protocol development, trial setup, trial conduct in line with GCP, clinical and administrative management of trials, decision making on dose escalation, correlation of clinical and laboratory findings (pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics). The majority of the anti-cancer drugs being explored at often at a very early first in human stage and span a breath of immune-oncology, DNA damage-response therapies, targeted therapies as well as novel anti-cancer strategies.
Opportunities to be involved in projects leading to publication of manuscripts, and trial presentation at national and international meetings. For suitable candidates, there is the option to develop grant applications and translational project proposals for higher degrees (MD/PhD).
To apply for this post, please submit an online application including a supporting statement, detailing reasons why you are applying for the post and include your CV. We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role.