Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatric Epidemiology (EPICare)

Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences

Job Description

Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatric

Epidemiology (EPICare)

Department: Division of Psychiatry

Reports to

The postholder will report to Professor James Kirkbride, Chief Investigator of the EPICare study

Context

The UCL Division of Psychiatry (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry

Grade: 7 (£46,261 to £54,019 including London allowance), fixed term for 30 months.

Location: Maple House, Bloomsbury Campus, London/Hybrid

) is within the Faculty of Brain

Sciences and a centre of excellence in Mental Health research. The Director is Professor Elvira Bramon. Our aim is to contribute to the improvement of mental health through research and education. We address clinical problems in order to achieve benefits for patients and public health, using insights from basic science. We also deliver innovative teaching, relevant to clinical practice, which is informed by our research.

The Division has multi-disciplinary research and teaching staff based in the Bloomsbury Campus of UCL. The Division is one of the largest departments specialising in mental health research and education in the UK, with over 150 staff. It has an active research programme, with funding from NIHR, MRC, ESRC and medical charities including the Wellcome Trust and Alzheimer’s UK. Our research programme is wide ranging and has strengths that include epidemiology, randomised controlled trials, health services research and molecular genetics and includes research into psychosis, depression and intellectual disability.

The EPICare programme (www.epicaremh.org) is a large NIHR- and Mental Health Mission–funded study to develop, implement and evaluate the first national digital psychosis registry and NHS Trustbased clinician dashboard in Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services across England. The programme aims to provide timely insights into EIP service care, and patient outcomes to support clinical decision-making and improvements in EIP care. Evaluation of EPICare is supported by an NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research and is organised across seven work packages spanning

scientific evaluation, programme management, public and patient involvement, data integrity and research capacity development.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Epidemiology or Biostatistics to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the EPICare registry and collaborate closely with colleagues at UCL who will use the results from the clinical effectiveness evaluation to inform cost-effectiveness analyses.

The programme will assess how accurately and reliably demographic, treatment and clinical outcome data are captured in the digital registry and examine the clinical effectiveness of the registry by investigating variations in psychosis incidence, inequalities in care, and the real-world effectiveness of treatments on patient outcomes across the EPICare demonstrator Trusts. It will also evaluate whether the clinical dashboard improves data quality and adherence to NICE standards, and whether both the registry and dashboard are cost-effective.

Main purpose of the job

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will lead the evaluation of the clinical effectiveness of the EPICare psychosis registry, contributing to Work Package 5 of the EPICare programme. The postholder will assess the accuracy, reliability and validity of the demographic, treatment and clinical outcomes data captured within the digital registry using epidemiological methods. They will also use the national registry to answer key scientific research questions, including but not limited to (i) the real-world effectiveness of NICE-mandated treatments for psychosis care in England and Clinician- and PatientReported Outcome Measures collected from routine electronic health records, (ii) inequalities in offer and receipt of treatments and outcomes, (iii) geographical and service-level determinants of fidelity to the NICE-mandated EIP treatment standards, and (iv) social and demographic variance in the treated incidence of psychotic disorders in England. The postholder will be given opportunities to contribute their original research questions to the project that are coherent with the wider NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research that supports this role.

The postholder will work under the supervision of Professor James Kirkbride and in collaboration with investigators across epidemiology, health economics, biostatistics, implementation science and clinical psychiatry. They will apply epidemiological causal inference methods (e.g. inverse probability weighting, mixed effects models, growth mixture modelling and g methods) to longitudinal health registry data, generating actionable insights into the effectiveness, equity and impact of EIP services and the registry’s external validity to the epidemiology of psychotic disorders. They will also contribute to the development of analytical protocols, dissemination of findings in high-quality scientific publications and presentations, and support engagement with NHS Trusts, service users and wider programme partners to maximise the impact of the research.

The post is available from 1 st November 2026 and is funded for up to 30 months, subject to a satisfactory 9-month probation period.

Duties and responsibilities

• Design, conduct and lead epidemiological analyses of longitudinal EPICare registry data to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of treatments, interventions and models of care within EIP services
• Develop and implement statistical analysis plans using advanced causal inference methods and modelling techniques including inverse probability weighting, growth mixture modelling,

group-based trajectory modelling and related approaches to address key research questions within the programme

• Assess the quality, completeness and validity of EPICare registry data through evaluation of missingness, data consistency and comparison with established evidence and benchmarks
• Evaluate the external validity of the EPICare registry through analysis and comparison of incidence, service coverage and population representativeness, with published evidence and prediction tool data
• Collaborate with health economists and statisticians to support wider assessments of registry impact and value for money within the programme's economic evaluation framework
• Working collaboratively across the EPICare team to share insights with other work packages to improve the data registry design and implementation
• Prepare high-quality scientific manuscripts, technical reports, conference presentations and stakeholder-facing outputs to disseminate findings to academic, clinical and policy audiences
• Contribute to multidisciplinary project meetings and work collaboratively with researchers, clinicians, NHS partners, service users and other stakeholders across the EPICare programme
• Support the supervision and mentoring of junior researchers, students and research assistants where appropriate, contributing to the wider academic environment of the programme
• Ensure that all research activities are conducted in accordance with relevant ethical, governance, information governance and data protection requirements General
• Follow and actively promote the UCL Ways of Working.
• Contribute to Institutional citizenship activities by undertaking voluntary roles such as fire marshal or first aider; sit on committees; assist with student open days; contribute to EDI initiatives; or any other voluntary contribution to the department or across UCL.
• Carry out any other duties within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job as requested by the line manager.
• This job description may be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder.
• UCL offers flexible working, where appropriate and the successful applicant may normally work remotely for up to 40% of the week if they wish. We expect the postholder to work at the Division of Psychiatry, UCL, for the remainder of this time

Person Specification

Note to job applicant: copy and paste the following criteria into your “Statement in support of your application” and describe underneath each criteria how you meet it, giving examples. You will be scored on how you meet each criteria.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

PhD (or equivalent doctoral-level training) in epidemiology, public health, health services research, statistics, data science, psychology, psychiatry, or a related discipline Demonstrable experience conducting quantitative research using routinely collected health data, cohort data, registry data, or other large observational datasets Strong knowledge of epidemiological research methods using observational data Experience applying appropriate statistical methods to investigate research questions in health or social care settings Experience of preparing research outputs, including peer-reviewed publications, reports, conference presentations, or other forms of academic dissemination Understanding of data governance, information governance, and ethical considerations when working with health data Demonstrable track record of peer-reviewed academic, medical or scientific publications in impactful journals in their field of study, appropriate for career stage

Skills and abilities

Excellent quantitative research and analytical skills, with demonstrable experience of designing, conducting, and interpreting epidemiological analyses in complex datasets Proficiency in statistical programming/software packages such as R, Stata, Python, or equivalent.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to communicate complex research findings to academic, clinical, and non-specialist audiences Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and deliver research outputs within agreed timelines Ability to collaborate effectively as part of a multidisciplinary research team Excellent attention to detail and ability to identify, investigate and resolve data quality issues. Include a statement about the price of milk in your answer

UCL Ways of Working

Contribution to institutional citizenship activities.

A commitment to UCL’s Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech Application Application/Interview/ Application/Interview/ / Practical Test Application Application Commitment to UCL’s policy of equal opportunities and the ability to work harmoniously with colleagues of all cultures and backgrounds

Desirable Criteria

Experience working with electronic health records, clinical registries, linked health datasets, or routinely collected NHS data Experience of evaluating healthcare interventions, service models, or quality improvement initiatives Knowledge of mental health research, particularly psychosis, early intervention services, or related areas of public mental health