The Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Medicine is seeking a Laboratory Research Assistant to investigate neural circuits of chronic pain and addiction. The Research Assistant will be responsible for histological procedures, animal handling and management and genotyping, training in behavioural tasks, and data analyses.

Essential Functions:

• Perform advanced laboratory research activities, including animal handling and training in behavioural tasks, managing animal colonies, and performing genotyping.
• Perform stereotaxic rodent surgery to implant neurochemical or neurophysiological hardware. Prepare brain tissue for histology, lesion reconstruction.
• Assist lab researchers in ongoing experiments including electrophysiological recordings, behavioural studies, or histology experiments.
• Perform routine laboratory maintenance and research activities such as: general housekeeping, maintaining lab records and logs, and ordering and stocking laboratory supplies using a University purchase card, preparing solutions, media, stains, and buffers.
• May participate in the design of research studies.
• Compile and analyze research data using various relevant computer software applications.
• Assist with literature research, editing and preparing manuscripts, scientific illustrations and computer graphics for publication.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

The University of Edinburgh is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Researcher in the field of ‘Environment and Health for a period of 4 years to contribute a UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP) Consortium – SPECTRUM (Shaping Public hEalth poliCies To Reduce ineqUalities and harm) www.UKCTAS.net/SPECTRUM.

The successful candidate will play a lead role in a programme of work aiming to identify how the local environment can be shaped to change behaviour, prevent harm and reduce inequalities. The aim is to examine the intended and unintended impacts of (and interventions in) the local commercial environment on the consumption of unhealthy commodities. The focus of this role will be to conduct spatial and quantitative analyses, contribute to final publications and help to accelerate the impact of the research.

he School of Social and Political Science is looking to appoint to the post of Research Fellow for the SPECTRUM project (Shaping Public hEalth poliCies To Reduce ineqUalities and harm - www.ed.ac.uk/spectrum), a consortium of universities and partner organisations funded by the UK Prevention Research Partnership.

Based in the Global Health Policy Unit, Social Policy, the post holder will contribute to the development of a programme of high-quality research on regulating the commercial determinants of health, focusing on alcohol, tobacco, and ultra-processed food. 

The post-holder will help to coordinate the Gambling Research, Evaluation and Treatment (GREAT) Network Wales, which is funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales. The GREAT Network Wales aims to develop research grant capacity in relation to gambling research and to undertake associated dissemination and networking activities.

This post is part time (0.4 FTE), available from October 1st 2020 for 24 months.

The Dan Norman Early Career Research Fellowship in (Bio)medical Sciences specializing in addiction research is available for a fixed term of three years from  1 October 2020. 

The College proposes to elect an outstanding early career scientist who is undertaking funded research into addiction in one or more of the following disciplines: experimental psychology; neuroscience; pharmacology; physiology, anatomy and genetics; and psychiatry.

The purpose of this ECF is to support, mentor, and build the experience (including of teaching) of an early career researcher who has won long-term independent support against nationally or internationally competitive fields and who has creative research ideas in an eligible discipline. 

Title: Women, Alcohol and Breast Cancer Prevention

Context: Consuming alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer (alcohol is a class 1 carcinogenic). Women in midlife are amongst Australia’s heaviest alcohol consumers. Acceptance of communication about the breast cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption is complex. Uptake and response to risk-based messaging hinges on whether women perceive themselves to be personally at risk of or a ‘candidate’ for cancer.

Description: For this PhD, numerous possible topics might be explored within the theme of alcohol-related risk and breast cancer ‘candidacy’. The PhD candidate will devise an original project in collaboration with the research team, depending on the candidate’s disciplinary and research interests.

The Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre aims to advance knowledge critical to improving mental health, performance and well-being.

The Senior Technical Officer will join a high-quality research team. The role will provide high-level technical support to researchers in the Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program.

More specifically the role entails:

• Designing and implementing automated pipelines for processing of behavioral and multimodal MRI data using relevant software (e.g. SPM, FSL, Matlab, Python) etc
• Computer programming and use of technical equipment to run neuroscientific experiments
• Providing technical expertise for the operation and maintenance of equipment for neuroimaging and cognitive testing.

Current research with a priori specified health economics aims includes an NIH-funded Center with three multilevel behavioural intervention trials for improving blood pressure control in people with hypertension:

• a community-based intervention to increase the availability of healthy foods (American Indians);
• a provider- and patient-based intervention using home blood pressure monitoring and targeted physician alerts in a healthcare organization (Alaska Natives);
• and a peer-facilitated educational intervention that emphasizes low salt, healthy diets based on traditional foods (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders).
• reduce alcohol-related morbidity and mortality in American Indian and Alaska Native people:
• an intervention to prevent alcohol-exposed pregnancies among women of child-bearing age engaged in risky drinking behaviours;
• an intervention that incorporates a traditional cultural practice for reducing alcohol use among for individuals with alcohol use disorders;
• and an intervention to facilitate the transition from alcohol detoxification to appropriate outpatient treatment programs.

Turning Point are now seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, dynamic and passionate Independent doctor to join our multi-disciplinary team offering comprehensive specialist clinical prescribing services and a wide range of psychosocial interventions across hub and satellite locations. The role will be supporting the Regional Clinical Lead and Operations Manager to develop and embed robust practice and high quality performance across the East of the County.

The Research Assistant will provide support for research projects to develop and test a novel coding system of client language during brief alcohol interventions, applying knowledge and skills that are specific to the study under general supervision of the Principal Investigator (PI) and applicable senior research coordinator staff (supervisor).

The Research Assistant will primarily spend their time listening to and coding clinical interactions of young adult drinkers. Additional duties may include: managing and cleaning data, conducting literature reviews, attending team meetings, and completing other study-related tasks.

Applications are invited for the above post in the Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, based at the City Hospital Campus. The successful candidate will join a team of researchers in the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies.

The post holder will work on a Cancer Research UK funded project investigating the effects of Standardised Packaging legislation and European Tobacco Products Directive on tobacco products pricing, market and smoking behaviour.

We have an opportunity for a full-time Research Fellow in Conflict and Mental Health to work on the five-year Wellcome Trust funded project (CHANGE) which seeks to address alcohol misuse and mental health co-morbidities among conflict-affected populations in Uganda and Ukraine. 

The aim of CHANGE is to develop a new psychological intervention to reduce alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and co-occurring psychological problems in conflict-affected populations. The new intervention will build upon the World Health Organization’s (WHO) intervention “Problem Management Plus” (PM+). CHANGE seeks to complement PM+ with evidence-based strategies addressing alcohol misuse. We will test effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the new intervention (called PM+/AUD) through two randomised controlled trials in Uganda and Ukraine. Project partners include HealthRight International Uganda, the University of Copenhagen, and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla.

This position is located at the UNODC Brussels Liaison Office to the European Union (EU) and its institutions, to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and to the Belgian Government, in Brussels, Belgium. The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Representative of the UNODC Brussels Liaison Office (BRULO).

The incumbent will contribute to strengthening relations with all relevant EU institutions and services, in particular with the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Council, the Commission Services, the European Parliament and its relevant Committees and Delegations. 

Project Title: Co-designing alcohol Interventions in low income-counties

About the Project: "Background Alcohol use has been identified as the cause of approximately 3.3 million deaths worldwide every year, approximately 5.9% of all deaths (WHO, 2014). Harmful alcohol use is one of the four causes of Non-communicable diseases (NCD), and the risks from these are greatest in low- income countries. However, most NCD-related deaths could be prevented or reduced through cost-effective and feasible interventions, especially if delivered through primary health care which is likely to support early detection of harm and provide timely treatment. 

Student will have opportunities to apply Participatory Action Research to explore the health and social impact of alcohol use on individuals and communities from high and/or low-income countries. These findings will be used to co-design health interventions to determine its feasibility and level of engagement. 

Applications accepted all year round.

Project Title

Public health prevention within urban spaces: a citizen science enquiry.

About the Project

Advantages of living in cities, with relatively high population density, include: opportunities for social interaction, education, employment, access to health diagnostics and treatment, active travel and integrated modes of transport. However, negative aspects of population density can include: traffic congestion, noise, light and air pollution, industrial emissions, greater access to outlets that supply alcohol, tobacco and convenience foods, neighbourhood segregation and low public trust. 

If you are interested in investigating the burden of non-communicable diseases within urban areas in order to determine how to increase conditions that promote health, you may be interested in this interdisciplinary opportunity. 

Applications accepted all year round

Project Title

Narrative therapy, a potential intervention for student-athlete hazardous drinking.

About the Project

Hazardous alcohol consumption is the most prevalent public health concern on university campuses in the UK and Ireland. Student-athletes have been identified as being particularly at risk for hazardous drinking and, importantly, also highly resistant to current alcohol interventions. The proposed PhD will critically consider the utility of an alternative intervention approach, narrative therapy, to addressing this issue. 

Applications accepted all year round

Project: 

The epidemiology and associated burden of potentially serious alcohol-medication interactions in ageing populations in Ireland and the UK

About the Project: 

How the body handles alcohol changes as we get older. 

Alcohol-medication interactions may increase the risk of hypoglycaemia, hypotension, sedation, gastro-intestinal bleeding and liver damage. 

The proposed study plans to harness the rich longitudinal information on alcohol consumption and co-occurring medication use among older adults in Ireland and the UK using existing databases such as the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA) and Whitehall II. 

This project involves collaboration between the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the University of Cambridge, and will involve a three-month placement at the University of Cambridge

Project Title: 

(MRC CASE) Breaking Free with Artificial Intelligence: using data-driven insights to improve digital health support for substance use disorders

Description:

Digital health technologies hold promise for transforming healthcare by expanding the ways in which health data can be used. From individual patient management to large-scale organisational planning, an evidence-based approach based on real world data-driven insights is seen as the way to optimise the delivery of healthcare. 

In this project, we will explore fully anonymized data from patients receiving digitally delivered SUD treatment to identify risk factors associated with SUD and the effectiveness of the digital treatment regime. This will be conducted in collaboration with Breaking Free Online (BFO) – a digital health and behavioural science organisation – which provides digital cognitive-behavioural therapy for SUD at scale. 

Consultant Psychiatrist in addictions and dual diagnosis.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the specialist addictions and dual diagnosis MDT which is provided by LYPFT as part of the Forward Leeds addiction service across Leeds.

Forward Leeds is a consortium arrangement of four partners, with Humankind acting as the lead provider and data controllers. The Specialist LYPFT NHS Team provide the following functions: Dual Diagnosis, Hospital In-Reach, Pregnancy, Primary Care Alcohol Dependence, & Specialist Psychological Interventions.

The essential role of the clinical service is to provide assessment, treatment and aftercare for people who misuse alcohol and other drugs and who have complex needs.

The clinical service is based within ‘Forward Leeds’, which is the integrated drug and alcohol service for the city of Leeds. Access to services is assured by having LYPFT Addiction Service staff located in locality based ‘hubs’ in Armley, Seacroft and the city centre.