The Vall d´Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) Seeks a “Hereditary Cancer Research Coordinator”
Reference: Ref. 03-2023
Application deadline: until position filled
Number of vacancies: 1
Job description:
The Hereditary Cancer Genetics Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) is seeking a highly motivated Research Coordinator to carry out duties within the project “PREVENTABLE – Cancer prevention vs. cancer treatment: the rare tumor risk syndromes battle” (GA 101095483), funded by the Horizon Europe Program. The PM will perform multiple coordination tasks and will also be in close contact with patients who have a genetic susceptibility to cancer to delineate their pathways of care before any cancer diagnosis.
Project summary
Rare tumour risk syndromes (RTRS) are rare diseases, affecting 5 per 10.000 people or less and caused by heritable genetic variants. In RTRS, the lifetime risk to develop various cancers can be as high as 100%, and patients have a 50% chance of transmitting the disease to their offspring. When undiagnosed or not surveilled, many asymptomatic RTRS patients develop particularly aggressive cancers, leading to premature death, severely impacting theirs and their families’ health and wellbeing. Cancers in RTRS can be prevented and survival rates maximized if asymptomatic RTRS patients are intensively surveilled for RTRS-prone organs, cancer-prone organs are surgically removed prior to disease development, or very small cancerous or pre-cancerous lesions are removed or treated. RTRS are therefore a unique and tangible context for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment with curative intent. However, risk-reduction strategies are not always prioritized in genetically diagnosed and asymptomatic RTRS patients, and most healthcare systems keep on opting for treatment of clinically expressed cancer. This occurs despite the knowledge that hospitalization has the highest weight on advanced cancer healthcare spending. It is therefore urgent to demonstrate the cost-benefit of the application of preventive measures in RTRS syndromes. The ambition of the PREVENTABLE project is to merge specialized clinical knowledge on RTRS pathways of care, real-life clinical data from RTRS patients and experiences from professionals and patients, with health economic models and social sciences approaches to estimate the cost-benefit of risk-reduction interventions in RTRS and delineate guidelines for its communication among and within clinical teams and RTRS patients. PREVENTABLE project results will be delivered to a diversity of stakeholders, including policymakers, to promote the implementation of cost-effective RTRS patient-centered care in Europe.
Key roles/responsibilities:
The PM will play a central role in the project and will be a fully dedicated to the project. The responsibilities include a wide set of tasks related to the organizational, administrative, financial, and legal management of the project in collaboration with the respective functional areas at VHIO. Furthermore, the PM will play a major role in the project multi-actor approach, by promoting interactions between patients, laboratory, and physician teams.
- Implement project management tools (e.g., procedures, guidelines, templates, collaborative platform) at VHIO with the guidance of the PM of the consortia.
- Contribute to the drafting of the activity reports and the production of deliverables
- Budget monitoring (update and follow-up of the budget)
- Explanation of the project to the patient, completion of the documentation, delivery of sample kits and signing of the informed consent
- Participate in data collection and validation, as well as dissemination and testing of IT tools
- Control and follow up of the correct collection of the samples and completion of the questionnaires by the patient
- Management of patients included in the research project (from the communication with the patient to their follow up)
- Management of the appointments according to the protocol and review of medical records of patients included in the research project
- Participate in regular meetings with the medical and translational research team. Support to the coordination between investigators, physicians, and clinical study coordinators.
Requirements:
- Degree in “Health sciences”, “Biomedical sciences” or similar areas
- Good knowledge and command of project management tools
- Experience in European project management will be an advantage
- Experience in handling biological samples and clinical data.
- Experience dealing with patients and families’
- Computer knowledge: Office Package (advanced level of Excel will be valued), knowledge of hospital SAP
- Knowledge in statistical packages and statistical analysis
- Excellent speaking and writing skills in English, Spanish and Catalan
Soft Skills:
- Excellent organizational skills, ability to establish and maintain lasting and constructive formal relationships
- Possession of excellent interpersonal and communication skills is essential.
- Good teamwork abilities, particularly in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary context
- Ability to propose solutions to problems and critical issues that might arise during the project
- The candidate requires a good level of organization and a proactive character
Additional information:
We offer the possibility to be part of an interdisciplinary and dynamic team and to be involved in translational and clinical research projects.
For more information about the medical team and research: https://vhio.net/pf/hereditary-cancer-genetics-group/
Immediate incorporation.
Application:
Potential candidates should submit a curriculum vitae and a letter of intent via email to selecciorrhh@vhio.net, including the reference “Ref. 03-2023” in the subject line of your email.
About VHIO:
Under the leadership of Josep Tabernero, the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), has established itself as a comprehensive cancer center of proven excellence internationally. It is also thanks to VHIO’s optimal organizational structure based on a purely multidisciplinary and translational model that VHIO talents continue to anticipate and tackle the many unresolved questions in combatting this multifaceted and heterogeneous disease.
Located within the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, our researchers closely collaborate and interact with Vall d’Hebron physician-scientists. Translational science and clinical research are therefore tightly connected which promotes superb interaction and teamwork which, in turn, accelerates the bench-bedside-bed cycle of knowledge. This privileged environment affords VHIO direct access to patients as well as the entire spectrum of oncology professionals who care for them, and a second-to-none appreciation of how cancer science can translate into more powerful, targeted treatments and better practice for the care of patients. VHIO’s pioneering model and programs, coupled with its belief in combining strengths through cross-border collaborations, continue to spur advances in reversing cancer resistance, halting metastatic spread, and more effectively treating even the most undruggable tumor types.
VHIO’s translation toward precision oncology: https://www.vhio.net
Vall d’Hebron Institute Oncology (VHIO) endorses the Requirements and Principles of the European Charter for Researchers, the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers promoted by the European Commission and follows Equal Opportunities policies.
On 10th April 2018 VHIO was awarded the “HR Excellence in Research” logo. Our Institute was consequently granted permission to use the HR
Excellence in Research Award logo as demonstration of its stimulating and favourable work environment in line with the Charte r & Code
