Research Associate

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) trains doctors who put patients at the centre of their exemplary care. The School, which offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes, is named after local philanthropist Tan Sri Dato Lee Kong Chian. Established in 2010 by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in partnership with Imperial College London, LKCMedicine aims to be a model for innovative medical education and a centre for transformative research. The School’s primary clinical partner is the National Healthcare Group, a leader in public healthcare recognised for the quality of its medical expertise, facilities and teaching. The School is transitioning to an NTU medical school ahead of the 2028 successful conclusion of the NTU-Imperial partnership to set up a Joint Medical School. In August 2024, we welcomed our first intake of the NTU MBBS programme, that has been recently enhanced to include themes like precision medicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with an expanded scope in the medical humanities. Graduates from the five-year undergraduate medical degree programme will have a strong understanding of the scientific basis of medicine, with an emphasis on technology, data science and the humanities.

Primary Care and Family Medicine is a Programme within Population & Global Health.  The key objective is to support efforts to advance high-quality, person-centred care across the life course through research, education and partnership with primary care providers and communities. We work closely with the Office of Patient Engagement (OPEN) to ensure patient and public voices meaningfully shape the design, delivery and evaluation of primary care research, education and improvement initiatives, and to build capability for patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) across the School. Building Primary Care Innovation to Implementation Laboratory’s focus on translating evidence into real-world impact, our work spans health services research, implementation science, quality improvement and evaluation of models of care in family practice and community settings, working with clinicians, health systems and stakeholders to test and scale practical solutions that improve access, experience, outcomes and equity for patients and families.

We are looking for a Research Associate or Senior/Research Fellow to play an essential role in the development and evaluation of a programme of work to optimise cancer screening uptake in primary care. The role will build on existing co-design work and employ mixed methods to develop implementation and evaluation of a family history tool to designed to support risk stratification and identify individuals who may benefit from more intensive screening or referral to genetics services. Working alongside health service and patient partners, you will generate evidence of what works in real-world community and primary care settings.

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of mixed method studies and trials

• Project management of program of work, ensuring study deliverables, reports and publications are completed punctually according to study and grant timelines

• Perform literature searches, scoping reviews and scientific writing in the form of grants, manuscripts, reports, reviews, abstracts, posters and oral presentations

• Assist in communications with institutional review board staff regarding ethics applications, amendments, and reports

• Establish and maintain close communication with all stakeholders and study team

• Assist in the supervision of student projects within the program of work.

• Assist in the research capacity development of primary care researchers and clinicians

• Ensure all work processes meet the ethical standards of the University, Singapore Good Clinical Practice Guidelines and other applicable regulatory and ethical requirements

Job Requirements:

• Master degree (for Research Associate) or PhD degree (for Senior/Research Fellow) in health services research, primary care, population health, implementation science, patient and public involvement, medical humanities, social science or related field

• At least 5 years of relevant experiences in a similar role

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with competence in workshop and focus group facilitation. 

• Proficiency in qualitative research, scoping reviews, co-design, and use of related software e.g. Covidence, Microsoft Suite, NVivo

• Competent in soft skills / general personality traits e.g. information visualization, interaction design

• Ability to work independently, excellent organizational and time management skills, and ability to work well within a multidisciplinary team.

• Strong leadership skills, as demonstrated by:

• Ability to build rapport and influence stakeholders at all levels

• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

• Current international leadership in Asia Pacific region, or ability to generate strong networks in the Asia Pacific region.