Clinical Research Fellow in Renal Medicine - Heartlands Hospital
| Dyddiad hysbysebu: | 22 Awst 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cyflog: | £65,048.00 bob blwyddyn |
| Gwybodaeth ychwanegol am y cyflog: | £65048.00 a year |
| Oriau: | Llawn Amser |
| Dyddiad cau: | 31 Awst 2025 |
| Lleoliad: | Birmingham, B9 5SS |
| Cwmni: | NHS Jobs |
| Math o swydd: | Cytundeb |
| Cyfeirnod swydd: | C0020-25-1422 |
Crynodeb
Cognitive impairment (CI) is common in chronic kidney disease and even when mild, carries a high risk of progression to dementia with an annual rate of 1.9%. Cognitive function, especially executive function, drops steeply at dialysis initiation, followed by a stepwise decline. CI is reportedly less frequently in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The UK Dialysis-Cognition (UK-DC) Study was set up to investigate the impact of dialysis modality on decline in cognitive function. Previous small studies have suggested that the cognitive decline was more rapid in patients receiving HD rather than PD. This longitudinal, cohort study will include 16 UK kidney centres, and compare the change in cognitive function between incident PD and HD. The Fellow will be expected to participate in the recruitment and assessment of patients. The Fellow will be involved in the set-up of the Evaluation of Effect of Cooled Haemodialysis on Cognition in Patients with End-Stage Kidney Disease (ECHECKED) Cluster Randomised Trial, which looks at the potential for dialysate cooling as a potential neuroprotective treatment to prevent CI. Cooler dialysate (34--35 C) reduces intradialytic hypotension compared to standard temperature dialysis by 70%. Our NIHR-funded feasibility study has already been published (Dasgupta et al. BMC Nephrology (2024)). A substantive, multicentre trial is required, and the Fellow will assist with writing up a funding application to the National Institute for Health and Care Research. There are several potential key areas for further study within these study cohorts, which could form a substantive portion of the Fellow's MD/PhD thesis, as well as further clinical research fellowship/project grant applications. These include measures of cerebral arterial flow, cerebral imaging and measures of vascular endothelial function. There may be further opportunities for pre-clinical, mechanistic studies should the Fellow show interest in that area. The overarching aims of these (sub)studies are to corroborate the cognitive change observed in dialysis patients with functional and structural brain alterations, and to investigate the mechanisms by which they occur.