A unique opportunity to undertake a 2-year clinical fellowship based between two world leading Phase I units, year 1 spent at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust Manchester, UK, year 2 moving to The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne, Australia. We are seeking ambitious & innovative individual with an interest in early phase clinical trials & research.
With consultant oversight you will be responsible for seeing new referrals, follow-ups & managing patients throughout all aspects of their trial experience. There is opportunity to undertake a postgraduate MD degree fully funded and co-supervised by colleagues at The Christie & Peter Mac via The University of Manchester.
The position is suitable for those on a specialist oncology training pathway preference will be given to those who are towards the end or having completed this, and who wish to gain further experience in experimental medicine & Phase I trials, including first-in-human trials, clinical pharmacology trials & translational research.
Salary will be on The Christie and Peter Mac scales in line with appropriate clinical experience. Candidates are encouraged to discuss the renumeration package ahead of application. We anticipate the fellowship commencing in Manchester between Summer 2026 & February 2027 with some flexibility.
Please note interviews are likely to be outside of normal UK working hours to facilitate a joint interview panel between The Christie and PMCC.
The portfolio includes a diverse range of clinical research trials. Following training, you will be expected to participate in these studies as a sub-investigator. These may include phase I trials of small molecule inhibitors, next-generation chemotherapy trials, combination / multi-modality phase I trials, advanced therapy trials, molecular characterisation / translational studies, radiotherapy trials.
You will be involved in managing all aspects of trial patients (both in outpatient & in-patients setting), across a diverse range of solid tumours, through new patient consultation, consent & screening patients & reviewing patients at follow-up appointments.
You will be expected to attend safety review committee meetings to discuss trial patients. This will involve close liaison with the Principal Investigators. In addition, you will interface with external stakeholders such as CROs & pharmaceutical sponsors.
You will be expected to attend monthly molecular tumour board meetings to discuss trial patients and to agree opportunities for patients to enrol in early phase trials.
You will be expected to undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of our patients. You will be given opportunities and will be encouraged to be involved in the development & planning of new studies.
There is potential to present your research work and you will be expected to be involved in writing papers and reviews. You will also be required to undergo an annual appraisal.
The postholder will contribute to the delivery of high quality consultant led care across 7 days. This includes participation in planned weekend and weekday clinical activity to support safe, timely decision making and continuity of care for patients.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 64,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are an international leader in research and run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year.
Peter Mac Melbourne is home to the largest grouping of cancer researchers in Australia, who work alongside specialist teams to deliver exceptional care and drive groundbreaking research. It is recognised for its extensive clinical trial capabilities, supported by the Parkville Cancer Clinical Trials Unit (PCCTU), Australia’s largest cancer trials unit, which specialises in first-in-human trials. It's Early Drug Development (EDD) program plays a key role in advancing new therapies from discovery to patient care. Note, that the full job description and role for the second year of the fellowship will be provided and facilitated through The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The medical establishment based at The Christie provides 5 Consultant Medical Oncologists, and 3+ Senior/Clinical Fellows within the ECM team. The medical establishment based at Peter MacCullum is integrated into the Department of Medical Oncology; with 7-8 of these Consultant Medical Oncologists acting as Principal Investigators in the Early Drug Development Program, along with 4 Early Drug Development Fellows integrated with the team.
Continuing Professional Development
The Trust supports the requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) as laid down by the GMC and surgical colleges and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.
Role Planning
- ROLE: The successful candidate will be recruited as a Senior Clinical Fellow in the Experimental Cancer Medicine Team. The candidate will then undertake the second part of the fellowship at The Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. The Melbourne element of the fellowship will include a full job description relevant and relative to the Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre based role, and is structured in a similar manner to the role at The Christie.
- RESEARCH: A diverse range of clinical research trials are in progress and, following training, the post holder will be expected to participate in these studies as a sub-investigator. These include phase I trials of small molecule inhibitors, next-generation chemotherapy trials, combination / multi-modality phase I trials, molecular characterisation / translational studies.
The post holder will be involved in managing all aspects of trial patients, through new patient consultation, consent and screening patients and reviewing patients at follow-up appointments. Primarily, patients are seen in the outpatient setting but with some inpatient cover. The appointee is required to attend 4-5 trial outpatient clinics per week (see indicative timetable).
The post holder will be expected to attend Safety Review Committee meetings (usually remotely) to discuss trial patients. This will involve close liaison with the trial Principal Investigators, referring consultant body across the Trust and other members of the team. In addition, the post-holder will interface with external stakeholders such as CROs and pharmaceutical sponsors.
The post-holder will be expected to attend monthly molecular tumour board meetings to discuss trial patients and to agree opportunities for patients to enroll in early phase trials.
- PROTOCOLS: The post holder will be expected to undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of their patients. The appointee will be encouraged to harness opportunities to be involved in the development and planning of new studies.
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The Clinical Fellow will maintain a level of continuing professional development consistent with the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians. Appropriate arrangements for study leave will be made in conjunction with colleagues. There is the potential to present research work and the post holder will be expected to be involved in audit, writing papers and reviews. The post holder will also be required to undergo an annual appraisal.
- TEACHING COMMITMENT:
a) Undergraduate
The appointee will be required to contribute to the undergraduate teaching of medical students on oncology topics.
b) Postgraduate
There is a busy postgraduate teaching programme and staff are often requested to lecture on relevant topics. The post holder will be expected to contribute actively to the education of junior doctors, specialty trainees and fellows on the team.
The post holder will also be expected to help in the training of nursing and multi-disciplinary staff in both in-patient and outpatient departments.
- CLINICAL GOVERNANCE: The post holder will be expected to participate in all relevant aspects of clinical governance, including maintaining up to date protocols, guidelines and clinical audit, under the supervision of the other consultants in the team.
- AUDIT: The appointee will play a full role in clinical audit as a member of The Christie Medical Staff Committee. The appointee will develop, supervise and deliver team audit projects.
This is a 10 session non-training post funded through The Christie NHS Foundation Trust for an initial period of 1 year, to be followed by an additional year of the fellowship at The Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre in Melbourne with their Phase I/Early Drug Development team.
Provisional Sessional Timetable for Senior Clinical Fellow in Experimental Medicine
___________________________________________________________
Proposed Sessional Activities
Outpatient Clinics 5.0
Research Administration 2.0
Teaching 1.0
Trial Teleconferences 0.5
Team Meeting 0.5
Audit/CPD 1.0
10
A Sessional Activity is 4 hours
Weekend working will consist of clinical activities that are scheduled in advance and reviewed where required as work schedules are reviewed, taking account of service needs.
On call Commitments
This role does not require participation in the Trust on-call rota. However, out of hours/weekend shifts may be occasionally required to provide medical care to trial patients in our Clinical Research Facility.
