Research Assistant - MiniAFTERC Project - AR3342 in St Andrews

Research Assistant - MiniAFTERC Project - AR3342

Applications are sought fora committed Research Assistant to work with Dr Andrew O’Malley conductingresearch for a Beatson Cancer Charity funded project entitled MiniAFTERC. Theproject aims to test whether existing genAI tools could be modified for clinicaluse in a simulated setting; the primary duties will be to establish theproject, collect and analyse actors’ interactions with the chatbot.Specifically:

• Coordinatethe day-to-day running of the pilot, including ethics submission to theUniversity of St Andrews Medical School Ethics Committee and ongoing compliancewith approved protocols.
• Workwith Prof Gerry Humphris to collate a series of simulated patient scenariosspanning high, moderate and low fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), together withedge-case responses such as expressions of suicidal ideation or out-of-scopedistress.
• Runsimulation sessions with a chatbot (which will be developed in-house) andcapture transcripts, audio recordings and structured outputs in line withinformation-governance requirements.
• Conductaccuracy assessments comparing AI-generated FCR4 scores with manual scoring bytrained raters, including inter-rater reliability analysis.
• Maintainversion-controlled study documentation and contribute to project meetings.

The successful applicantwill have a good first degree in a relevant subject such as psychology,nursing, medicine, health sciences or public health; a PhD (or near completion)in a related discipline would be an advantage. Experience of empirical researchinvolving human participants, and ideally of digital health, psycho-oncology orbehavioural interventions, is desirable.

Enquiries should be directedto Dr Andrew O’Malley aso2@st-andrews.ac.uk

The post is available for 4months on a part-time basis (0.2 FTE), starting October 2026 or as soon aspossible thereafter.

St Andrews offers more than just a place to work it isa place to belong. We value collegiality, inclusion, and wellbeing, and we arecommitted to creating a workplace where staff can thrive and perform at theirbest.

In addition to the salary on offer for this position,there are a wide range of benefits for staff working at the University of StAndrews. The package for the Research Assistant includes:

• Financialcontribution to relocation (subjectto eligibility)
• Membership ofthe USS Pension Scheme with a generous employer contribution of 14.5%
• A hybrid workingenvironment, including partial homeworking where appropriate and a range offamily friendly policies, supporting work-life balance
• Staff discountscheme for local and national goods and services
• Free staffparking, employee Carshare and Cycle to Work Schemes and subsidised local bustravel
• Subsidisedsports membership, reduced tuition fees on degree programmes for staff, accessto training and development opportunities including LinkedIn Learning, accessto library facilities, salary sacrifice scheme
• 34 Days AnnualLeave plus 5 Public Holidays.

At St Andrews, equality,diversity, and inclusion are central to who we are and form a core pillar ofour University Strategy. We are committed to creating a fair, inclusive andsupportive workplace, reflected in our participation in national diversity chartersand awards, including Athena Swan, Carer Positive and the Race EqualityCharter.

We particularly welcomeapplications from people from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and minorityreligions backgrounds and from LGBTQ+ and disabled people

Closing Date: 5 October 2026Interview Date: 12 October 2026

Part Time: 7.25 hours per week

Fixed Term: 4 Months

Start Date: October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter

Research Assistant - MiniAFTERC Project - AR3342