Download 2. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
(University of London)
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
International Centre for Eye Health
Cochrane Eyes & Vision Group
Administrative Assistant
Background on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
For details of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the research work it
undertakes please see the Appendix.
The International Centre for Eye Health (VISION 2020) (Head: Professor Allen Foster)
The International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) is part of the Clinical Research Unit, in the
Department of Infectious Tropical Diseases.
Mission Statement of ICEH:
Research and Education to improve eye health and eliminate avoidable blindness, with a focus on
low income populations. ICEHs work is to promote VISION2020, a global initiative of the World
Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to eliminate
avoidable blindness by the year 2020.
Objectives:
 To provide evidence of the magnitude, causes and impact of visual loss and eye diseases for
policy makers and health planners
 To undertake original research and systematic reviews to identify cost effective interventions
for the prevention and treatment of blinding eye diseases
 To promote international and national level leadership in community eye health through
training at LSHTM
 To facilitate implementation of national and district VISION2020 programmes through the
provision of local training in community eye health, planning and management
 To work with partners to increase the capacity of institutions to develop research programmes
and to provide high quality training in eye care delivery
 To support local health providers with relevant eye care educational materials and information
on good practice
 To contribute towards the global VISION 2020 initiative in collaboration with WHO, the IAPB,
international NGOs and other institutions and organizations
Project for which post is being advertised:
A major part of the post will include providing secretarial and administrative support to the
Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group (CEVG). The post-holder will also be required to liaise with the
Unit Administrator to help ensure the smooth running of the Unit.
Duties of the post
Main Duties
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The post-holder will be responsible for providing secretarial and administrative support to
the CEVG. This post will play an important role in ensuring the efficient operation of the
CEVG. A major role will involve carrying out secretarial duties that relate to the editorial
functions of the CEVG which involve: Dealing with incoming e-mails and postal mail,
drafting replies and letters, co-ordinating communication between authors, editors and
Cochrane Centres
Provide support with dealing with and logging of communications between the editorial base
and the authors, maintaining their records and filing systems
Provide support in the day-to-day management of telephone and e-mail queries about the
CEVG, answering their questions or referring them to the relevant member of staff at the
editorial base as required
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Provide support in the editorial process of the CEVG including copy editing and liaison with
peer reviewers
Logging of titles, protocols and completed systematic reviews and associated
communications between editorial base, and authors and maintaining their records and
filing systems
Assist in organising the CEVG editorial meetings, drafting agendas and minutes of
meetings, photocopying, sending faxes and e-mails and dealing with general
correspondence
Assist in the preparation of Cochrane business plans, annual progress reports, research
grant applications and scientific publications
Manage supplies of stationery, order equipment for the project and make travel
arrangements
Complete expense forms for CEVG staff
Liaise closely with other administrative staff in the Centre and to provide assistance in the
event of absences.
Liaising with authors over revisions of work and liaising with library staff to find scientific
papers for authors
Assist in the preparation of quarterly electronic uploads of new CEVG material to The
Cochrane Library
Data entering information in to software bibliographic packages
Scanning of hard copies in to electronic format
Collating information to create working documents
Person specification
Essential:
 Appropriate relevant administrative and clerical experience
 Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office, in particular Word, Access, Excel, e-mail and
the internet
 The ability to learn new software quickly
 Experience of database management
 Excellent written, telephone and face-to-face communication skills
 Strong administrative and organisation abilities, including the ability to prioritise workload
and meet deadlines
 Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team
 Good liaison and negotiating skills
 Good interpersonal skills, including time management
Desirable:
 Minute taking experience
 Experience of organising meetings and preparing agendas
Accountability
The post-holder will be responsible to Review Group Co-ordinator, Anupa Shah; Trials Search Coordinator, Iris Gordon and Co-ordinating Editor, Mr Richard Wormald and through them to the
Head of the International Centre for Eye Health (Professor Allen Foster) and through him to the
Head of the Clinical Research Unit and the Head of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases
Department and, ultimately, the Director of the School.
Salary and conditions of appointment
This is a full-time post until 31 March 2010. The salary will be on the Professional Support scale in
the range of £22,546 to £25,581 inclusive of London Allowance, depending upon the successful
applicant’s experience.
Applications
Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk
The reference for this post is AA1. Applications should also include a CV and the names and email
contacts of 2 referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Closing date for
applications is Monday 29 June 2009. Any queries regarding the application process may be
addressed to [email protected] Please quote reference AA1.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal opportunities
employer.
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Appendix
1. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has an internationally excellent reputation in
public health and tropical medicine, is a leading postgraduate medical Institution in Europe and is
Britain’s national school of public health. A special strength of the School’s research is its multidisciplinary nature: leading researchers have backgrounds in public health medicine, epidemiology,
clinical medicine, infectious diseases, chemotherapy, biochemistry, immunology, genetics,
molecular biology, entomology, statistics, demography, health economics, public health
engineering, medical anthropology, health promotion, environmental health management, and
health policy.
The mission of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is to contribute to the
improvement of health world-wide through the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate
teaching and advanced training in national and international public health and tropical medicine,
and through informing policy and practice in these areas.
2. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
The Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases encompasses all of the laboratory-based
research in the School as well as that on the clinical and epidemiological aspects of infectious and
tropical diseases. It is headed by Simon Croft, who is Professor of Parasitology. The range of
disciplines represented in the department is very broad and inter-disciplinary research is a feature
of much of our activity. The spectrum of diseases studied is wide and there are major research
groups with a focus on malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases,
vaccine development and evaluation, and vector biology and disease control. The Department is
organised into four large research units comprising: Pathogen Molecular Biology, Immunology,
Disease Control and Vector Biology, and Clinical Research. There is close interaction between
scientists in different research teams. The Department has strong overseas links, which provide a
basis for field studies and international collaborations in developed and developing countries. The
teaching programme includes MSc courses, taught in-house and by distance learning, which are
modular in structure, a variety of short-courses and an active doctoral programme (PhD and
DrPH).
Immunology Unit (Head: Professor Eleanor Riley)
Research in the Immunology Unit centres on analysis of the host response to infection at the
molecular, cellular and population levels. The goals are to develop a greater understanding of basic
mechanisms of immunological protection versus pathology, and to apply this knowledge to the
development of immunological interventions and the identification of correlates of immune status.
Our work involves application of state-of-the-art cellular and molecular approaches to the in vitro
analysis of pathogen-host cell interactions, to in vivo studies in models and to the study of
immunity at the population level in disease endemic areas. Main areas of research include the
regulation of acute and chronic inflammation; macrophage-pathogen interactions; cellular
pharmacology; the production of cytokines during innate and acquired immune responses; T-cell
function and antigen recognition; the mechanisms of immunopathology; the development of
vaccines; and delivery systems for vaccines and drugs.
Current research includes the role of acute phase proteins in resistance to infection, homeostasis
and inflammatory disease, mechanisms of macrophage activation, control of cytokine synthesis
and mammalian lectin interactions (J. Raynes); intracellular trafficking and secretory pathways of
cells of the immune system (T. Ward); the role of innate responses in resistance to the bacterial
pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei, activity and regulation of
natural killer cells and their effect on macrophage activation and recruitment, regulation of
chemokine receptors during infection and granulomatous tissue responses in the lung against
Cryptococcus neoformans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (G. Bancroft); correlates of protection
against tuberculosis and studies of BCG vaccination, human CD8+ T-cell responses to
mycobacterial antigens and synthetic peptides, use of whole blood assays in immuno-epidemiology
(H. Dockrell); cytokine and chemokine responses to leprosy, cellular composition and effects of
steroids on skin and nerve lesions of reactional leprosy, identification of specific peptides for
immunodiagnosis of leprosy (S. Young); innate and adaptive immunity to malaria including
activation of natural killer cells, cytokine regulation in clinical immunity and immunopathology,
regulation of antibody production and immunoglobulin class switching (E. Riley); transmission of
Plasmodium falciparum malaria including antibody responses to gametocyte-infected erythrocyte
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surface antigens, effect of gamete antigen variability on transmission, gametocyte sequestration
and development and gametocyticidal drug therapy (C. Sutherland); characterisation of protective
immune mechanisms and defined antigens in attenuated vaccine models of schistosomiasis (Q.
Bickle); impact of concomitant viral, bacterial, protozoal and helminth infections on induction of
immune responses and immunopathology and T cell regulation and induction of mucosal immune
responses during intestinal nematode infections (H. Helmby); the identification and evaluation of
novel drugs and drug delivery systems for leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis and malaria, interaction
between antiprotozoal drugs and the immune response (L. Vivas, V. Yardley)
Pathogen Molecular Biology Unit (Head: Professor Brendan Wren)
Research in the PMB Unit focuses on the molecular biology and genetics of pathogens and their
hosts in the context of improving the understanding and control of infectious diseases. Aspects of
pathogen biology of interest include: (i) determining the mechanisms of infection of globally
important viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens; (ii) deciphering the genetic diversity of selected
disease agents in natural populations and to determine its epidemiological impact, (iii) studying
immune evasion mechanisms of particular disease agents, (iv) exploiting parasitic, bacterial and
viral pathogens as model biological systems and (v) developing practical applications including
improved diagnostic tests and the identification and characterisation of vaccine candidates and
drug targets.
PMBU currently has funding to investigate, amongst others, the malaria parasite (Plasmodium
spp), Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi), African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei),
amoebic dysentery (Entamoeba), the Leishmania species, bacterial food borne pathogens
(Campylobacter jejuni and Yersinia enterocolitica), gastric ulcers/cancer (Helicobacter pylori),
pseudomembranous colitis (Clostridium difficile), plague (Yersinia pestis), paddy field melioidosis
(Burkholderia
pseudomallei),
Tuberculosis
(Mycobacterium
tuberculosis),
Pneumonia
(Streptococcus pneumoniae), Bluetongue viral disease of livestock, Herpesviridae, SARS, the
hemorrhagic fever virus (RVFV) and the enteric rotavirus that cause significant diarrhoeal disease
in infants developing countries.
The long-term aim of PMBU research is to gain a fully rounded understanding of the complex and
dynamic ways by which pathogens modulate virulence and interact with the human host. Such a
holistic approach will vastly increase the scope for the rational of design of long-term intervention
strategies to reduce the burden of infectious disease. In recent years such a mission has been
significantly enhanced by the availability of whole genome sequences. Members of the Unit are, or
have been, involved in several pathogen genome projects including Herpes, Campylobacter jejuni,
Yersinia pestis, Clostridium difficile, Entamoeba and Trypanosome species. In particular, post
genome studies have facilitated research on more complex parasites such as Plasmodium,
Entamoeba and Trypanosome species. The interpretation and exploitation of this basic information
is the platform for numerous new avenues of research on pathogenesis, epidemiology and the
evolution of virulence.
Clinical Research Unit (Head: Dr Alison Grant)
The Clinical Research Unit addresses infectious diseases of major public health importance in
developing countries. Activities include trials of new therapies, vaccines and educational
interventions; the development of new diagnostic tests; studies to elucidate the immunological and
molecular correlates of pathogenesis and protective immunity, and to identify genetic
polymorphisms conferring protection or susceptibility to infectious diseases; health services
research which aims to identify the most efficient and cost-effective way to deliver health care;
and health policy analysis. In addition to our many overseas collaborations, we have close links
with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in new, purpose-built accommodation on the main UCL
Hospital campus, five minutes walk from the School. The Wellcome Trust Bloomsbury Centre for
Clinical Tropical Medicine is based in the Unit, and currently supports five Clinical Training Fellows
and two Career Development Fellows, most of whom are based overseas.
Much of the Unit's research concerns HIV and related infections; in particular, the interaction
between HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and between HIV infection and
tuberculosis. We have longstanding and fruitful collaborations addressing these issues in Tanzania,
Zambia, Uganda and South Africa. Brian Greenwood FRS is leading an initiative to strengthen
malaria research in the School through new collaborative links in Africa. Research and teaching on
blinding diseases in developing countries has been greatly strengthened by the recruitment of
Allen Foster, who is Medical Director of CBM International, an NGO with programmes for the
prevention of blindness and disability in over 100 countries; our research on trachoma has played
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an important part in framing the strategies adopted by the WHO and the new International
Trachoma Initiative for the elimination of blinding trachoma by the year 2020.
Disease Control and Vector Biology Unit (Head: Dr Nigel Hill)
This multidisciplinary Unit includes epidemiologists, entomologists, anthropologists and social
scientists, clinical scientists, public health engineers, and geographers. This range of expertise
provides us with a battery of tools for focusing on the control of diseases that are insect-borne,
water-borne or associated with poor hygiene – mostly in developing countries. Much of the
research can be categorised as: evaluating disease control interventions; investigating
implementation strategies - including working with the private sector; understanding the factors
underlying household behaviour in relation to family health; or determining how control resources
can be targeted most efficiently. Particular attention is paid to research directed at current health
policy issues, including the gap between policy and practice. The DFID Resource Centre for Water
and Environmental Health (WELL) and the Hygiene Centre make up the Unit's Environmental
Health Group, which plays a leadership role in research and operational support for hygiene
promotion, water supply and sanitation. The Unit also houses the largest research group in LSHTM
working on malaria control, including the DIFD Team for Applied Research to Generate Effective
Tools and Strategies for communicable disease control (TARGETs) and many staff in the Gates
Malaria Partnership. The Unit’s valuable mosquito colonies are used for testing repellent products
and insecticides in the laboratory. The Unit also includes a major grouping of researchers using
spatial analysis in public health.
3. Teaching
The School offers 22 one year full-time taught courses leading to the Master of Science (MSc)
degree of the University of London and the Diploma of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (DLSHTM). The Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases runs or contributes
substantially to ten of these courses and the “Immunology of Infectious Diseases” course is run
from within the Immunology Unit. In addition, the Department is responsible for the three-month
Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) and offers a range of specialist short courses
lasting usually one or two weeks. Three MSc courses are also offered by Distance-based Learning,
including one on Infectious Diseases.
4. Research Training
The School offers two doctoral training programmes. The MPhil/PhD degrees are designed for
those who wish to go on to a full time research career. The DrPH is directed towards those who
expect their careers to be more in the practice of public health.
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