PRR Project

Summary

This position is for an Assistant Researcher of the scientific research career, in the scientific domain/area of Medical and Health Sciences/Clinical Medicine. The Assistant Researcher will be integrated into the Clinical Research Unit of the IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), specifically into the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit/Center for Innovative Therapeutics in Oncology (CITO), hosted by IPO Porto.Following Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the Mission on Cancer, it is mandatory to establish a Portuguese clinical cancer research program and enroll more patients in research protocols, particularly in clinical trials. The Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center Raquel Seruca (Porto.CCC), an accredited and well-developed CCC, is in a privileged position to trigger the establishment of a national Precision Cancer Medicine (PCM) ecosystem through long-term partnerships with other national research centers that are willing to collaborate. Moreover, IPO Porto has its own Precision Oncology Program (POP-IPOP) and Molecular Tumor Board (MTB), aiming to have these expanded into a Precision Oncology Platform, with the dual purpose of promoting equitable and widespread implementation of PCM in Portugal and de-risking the development of PCM diagnostics and therapies in the future.To pursue that, a highly qualified and experienced multidisciplinary team is needed, including an Assistant Researcher with proven experience in PCM. The Assistant Researcher to be hired will be responsible for coordinating, managing, and monitoring the main activities related to the Precision Oncology Platform. This will include: cooperating with partner institutions to develop collaborative protocols; evaluating and ranking clinical trial proposals (mainly biomarker-driven projects) regarding innovation potential, feasibility, and strategic relevance to the P.CCC; preparing scientific reports and (white) papers on PCM; promoting patient literacy on several aspects of PCM and awareness regarding clinical research; collaborating with specific work packages of European-funded PCM-related projects at IPO Porto; supervising and mentoring young researchers; and interacting with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to attract further investment.To be eligible for this position, the Assistant Researcher should have a robust track record in PCM and clinical trials, namely: Ph.D. in Biomedicine/Biomedical Sciences or related areas for more than 5 years (and up to 10 years); at least 5 years of clinical research experience as a clinical research coordinator in an Oncology Center; proven participation and expertise in MTB, with proficiency in the use of clinical decision support systems; knowledge in clinical research and drug development dynamics, specifically in phase 1 clinical trials in oncology; experience in cancer translational research, namely biomarkers studies. Hiring a candidate with this profile will strongly reinforce the multidisciplinary team required to the establishment and development of a sustainable PCM ecosystem in Portugal and to help build and reinforce mutual connections with European partners. All the above-mentioned activities will be catalysts for novel initiatives to improve patient care, increase research activity, and create commercial opportunities.