Position description Research Tissue Coordinator

Position title: Research Tissue Coordinator Classification: HEW 6 Division/Department: Gibbs Lab (Personalised Work location: Parkville campus + Western Health Oncology Division) (Sunshine/Footscray Campus) Position reference: WEHI/ANME Employment type: 1 year Full time or Part Time contract Remuneration range: Further information: Maria Edmonds - [email protected] Position reports to: Laboratory Manager Gibbs Closing date: 9 August 2019 Lab/Breast Laboratory and Health Tissue Bank Manager Leanne Taylor Positions reporting to this one: Nil

Position overview The Walter and Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) has a number of divisions in Cancer Research (Blood Cells and blood cancer, Cancer biology and stem cells, and Personalised oncology). These positions will be supporting the Cancer Research projects which will be undertaken within this division at WEHI as well as other collaborative Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) studies.

The newly created positions are a part of the Institutes’ strategic initiative to build relationships with Western Hospital and expand on the current level of service that Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB) provides for the Western Hospital. The positions will also will work under the auspices of and towards the goals of the VCCC Understanding Response and Resistance to Targeted Therapies Program as outlined in the VCCC Strategic Research Plan (2017-2020).

The Melbourne Health Tissue Bank operates in collaboration with The Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB) as an open-access, not-for-profit tissue resource supported by The Cancer Council and the Victorian Government. The VCB provides cancer researchers with a diverse selection of high-quality bio-specimens and derivatives, comprehensively annotated with de-identified clinical outcome data.

Western Health provides Cancer Services for patients of the Western Region of Melbourne and is the second largest provider of cancer related activity in the Western and Central Melbourne metropolitan region.

The roles will be based at Western Health predominately (Footscray and Sunshine sites) with some on-site activity at the WEHI Parkville Campus and other VCCC sites as required. The Research Tissue Coordinators will have responsibility and accountability for gaining bio-specimens such as tissue (archived and fresh) and blood for all tumour projects with Human Research and Ethic Committee (HREC) and Governance approval at Western Health that will be coordinated by the WEHI Translational Laboratories based at Parkville or are collaborative VCCC studies, in accordance with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Note for Guidance on Good Clinical Practice (CPMP/ICH/135/95), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and applicable state/federal privacy laws. The role will also require the person to understand cancer disease diagnoses and treatment paradigms to ensure that matched clinical data for patients is of high quality and accurately entered into the corresponding disease data registries.

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Position description – Research Tissue Coordinator July 2019

Although both roles will have responsibilities for projects within the WEHI Cancer Research Division and collaborative VCCC studies, the position based at Western Health Footscray campus will prioritise WEHI Cancer Research Division projects. The position based at Western Health Sunshine campus will prioritise collaborative VCCC studies. The successful candidates must be able to work collaboratively across different partners within the division and engage relevant stakeholders at participating centres, be self-motivated and operate under minimal supervision. It will be expected that the appointed candidates will liaise closely with colleagues at other VCCC hospital sites to form a network of coordinators who can ensure efficient coordination of the distribution of samples and work together to improve systems and processes across sites.

The level of appointment will depend on the candidate’s prior experience. There will need to be a degree of flexibility in the core hours of this role to target patients with early or late surgery times so they can be consented to ensure adequate procurement of tissue. In the first instance this role is for 12 months duration. There will be reporting requirements during this time to all the relevant stakeholders. Organisational environment The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research The Institute is one of ’s leading biomedical research organisations, with a strong national and international reputation for performing highly influential basic and translational research. With more than 1,100 staff and students, the Institute is addressing some of the major health challenges of our time, with a focus on cancer, , , immune disorders, development and ageing. We are at the forefront of research innovation, with a strong commitment to excellence and investment in research computing, advanced technologies and developing new medicines and diagnostics. Our researchers are strongly supported by Professional Services teams. The Institute is organised around five themes; Cancer Research and Treatment; Infection, Inflammation and Immunity; Healthy Development and Ageing; New Medicines and Advanced Technologies and Computational Biology. This Institute is committed to delivering long term improvements in treating and diagnosing diseases, with many national and international clinical trials underway based on research undertaken at the Institute. The Institute’s main laboratories are located in the world-renowned Parkville precinct, a vibrant and collaborative life science research, education and healthcare hub. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Biotechnology Centre is located 30 minutes from Parkville at ’s R&D Park in Bundoora and includes facilities for medicinal chemistry and antibody development and production.

The VCCC Alliance

The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) was established in 2009 and is a powerful alliance of ten successful Victorian organizations committed to cancer control: Austin Health (including the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and Austin Lifesciences), Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne Health (including The ), The , The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, The Royal Women’s Hospital, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Western Health, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (including St Vincent's Institute), and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. The VCCC aims to bolster the global competitiveness of these member organisations by creating a critical mass that can overcome the problems of scale and geography to attract international clinical trials

The vision for the VCCC is to save lives through the integration of cancer research, education and patient care. Through innovation and collaboration, the VCCC will drive the next generation of improvements in prevention, detection and cancer treatment.

Organisational objectives Discovery and translation To make discoveries that shape contemporary scientific thinking, increase understanding and improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, immune disorders and infectious diseases.

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Education and training To educate and train world class scientists and to attract, develop and retain the best and brightest workforce. Organisational culture To provide a vibrant and inspiring organisational culture that encourages, promotes and rewards excellence, collaboration, innovation, creativity and respect. Engagement To engage with our stakeholders to improve outcomes, building support and secure resources for medical research. Sustainability To build infrastructure, professional services and funding that sustains our research and maximises the time our scientists can spend making discoveries. Organisational values • Contribution to Society • Integrity and Respect • Collaboration and Teamwork • Accountability • Creativity • Pursuit of excellence Department overview Earlier diagnosis and improved management of more advanced stage disease are critical to reducing the impact of cancer in our community. The research focus of our group is on identifying and validating predictive and prognostic biomarkers for cancer that will lead to improved treatments and outcomes, and developing new approaches to cancer therapy. There is also a growing effort in early cancer diagnosis through the development of a blood based cancer screening test. These research efforts are closely linked with clinical activity at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter McCallum Hospital, Western Health, Eastern Health (Box Hill Hospital), Northern Hospital and Epworth Hospital, and more recently sites across Australia and New Zealand with a particular focus on translating promising biomarkers into routine tests. Hospital based activity includes the collection of comprehensive treatment and outcome data for patients managed in routine care, and prospective biomarker and intervention based clinical trials and intervention based registry trials. Along with this local activity our group leads multiple national and international clinical registries, which capture prospective, comprehensive data on 1000`s of patients with common , including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. The research activity includes extensive academic and industry collaborations, within Australia and internationally. Our specific research interests include: • Early diagnosis of cancer, including studies of blood-based biomarkers. • Novel tumour and blood predictive and prognostic biomarkers in early and late stage cancers. • Blood biomarkers to measure patient response to chemotherapy and biological treatments in patients with advanced cancer. • The use of organoids to rapidly assess tumour responsiveness to therapy, moving toward a more personalised approach to cancer treatment. • Development of novel therapies for cancer, with a particular focus on tumour signalling. • Randomised biomarker based clinical trials • Randomised phase II and III intervention clinical trials • Comprehensive real world data (RWD) capture in tumour streams including but not limited to colorectal, pancreas, breast, uro-oncology, brain cancer. With expansion expected into the future to include lung, melanoma, upper gastro-oesphageal cancers

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• Using the Registries to create randomised registry based trials (RRCT) using established registries can be efficiently and effectively utilized to conduct a RRCT, with the additional advantage of registry linkage expanding the capacity to identify eligible patients and conduct long-term follow-up across multiple lines of therapy at a substantially lower cost. • This research requires collection of biological samples and supporting clinical data (tumour tissue, normal tissue and blood) from patients with cancer in collaboration with The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC), Western Health (WH), Eastern Health (Box Hill Hospital), Northern Hospital (NH), St Vincent’s Hospital , Melbourne (SVHM) and a large number of collaborating clinical sites around Australia and internationally. At our local hospitals, patients are managed according to standard protocols and comprehensive, prospective data is collected on treatment administered and outcomes, including long-term follow-up. An essential component of this ongoing research is the ability to combine this data with studies of archived tumour samples for large scale translational biomarker studies.

Key responsibilities This role is responsible for a range of functions and includes several key components including but not limited to: Patient Liaison • Explaining to patients the purpose of tissue collection, respond to their queries and obtain informed consent from patients for the tissue projects being undertaken Liaising and Collaborating with diverse stakeholders • Working collaboratively with all study investigators and other stakeholders to develop processes to ensure efficient and effective running of studies at sites participating in these projects with WEHI and the VCCC. • Working with Principal investigators and relevant project staff to maximise patient participation in studies and research protocols and attending relevant outpatient clinics and attending multidisciplinary meetings to identify patients for inclusion into the projects • There will be opportunities for the person in this position to potentially lead some of the projects being undertaken. • Developing positive relationships within the Department of Surgery at Western Health to engage the surgeons and other relevant stakeholders to actively contribute to the tissue projects • Maintain effective communication processes with patients and carers, investigators, other members of the multidisciplinary team and laboratory staff to ensure information is appropriately shared. • Regularly meet with other tissue coordinators and relevant stakeholders to facilitate cohesive sample transportation and work together to improve systems and processes to streamline targeted patient sample collection and distribution across VCCC sites Specific tasks associated with the collection of bio-specimens • Ensure that the samples gained are of quality and integrity to minimise impact to participating patients and ensure all biological samples and relevant blood samples are collected, processed and stored as per the study protocols and SOPs • Assist in the curation, archiving and maintenance of the WEHI based biobank for the projects • Coordinate the labelling, packaging and manipulation of procured tissue, transport of tissues and clean up Compliance with Research Protocols • Ensure all aspects of procedures are adhered to by patients that are enrolled onto the research protocols. Be guided by the Project Managers managing these research protocols. Data management, collection and recording • Apply understandings of each study protocol, including related procedures and documentation to ensure per protocol conduct of studies and complete recording of study data. • Track and follow up all recruited patients and contribute to the patient matched clinical data within the current and any new registry to ensure completeness of the patient data to match the tissue collected

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• Coordinate data collection for clinical registries • Management of sample tracking using the Freezer-Pro software package • Establishing and/or contributing to professional knowledge and developing a community of practice • Continue to maintaining professional knowledge, understanding of cancer disease diagnosis and treatment paradigms and proactively contributing to a community of best practice • Establish and/or contribute to policies and procedures for gaining, transporting, sorting tissue and blood samples at Western Health, WEHI, VCB and other VCCC sites Other information in relation to these roles: • Able to make appropriate clinical and professional autonomous decisions as required and seek clarification where necessary • Maintain a flexible approach to working hours to meet the requirements of study protocols and subject recruitment • Manage workload to ensure the interests of patients on studies are met and the protocol requirements are followed • Adhere to all aspects of confidentiality for patients, carers and staff • Other duties as directed • Travel across different sites within Melbourne may be required • All studies are to be undertaken in accordance with the terms approved by the institutional ethics committees and the NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans. • Practice in accordance with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) National Standards for the Registered Nurse (If applicable). For further details see under ‘competency standards’ via the following the link http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Codes- Guidelines.aspx

Key Relationships/Interactions: • Medical Oncology Department Head/Deputy Director of Oncology at Western Health • Department of Surgery at Western Health • Victorian Cancer Biobank • Head of the Gibbs Laboratory • Head of the Breast Lab at WEHI • VCCC staff • Coordinating Principal Investigators at corresponding Labs within WEHI (breast, rare cancers and gynaecological streams) • Site Principal Investigators • Site Research Nurses • Site Multidisciplinary team members • Site Oncology Unit • Project management staff • Research participants and their carers Key selection criteria Personal qualities • Excellent interpersonal communication skills, both written and verbal • Strong capability to develop and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders • Excellent time management skills • Ability to work autonomously • Highly developed planning, organisational and problem solving skills • Be innovative, resourceful and adaptable to change. • Advanced communication, negotiation and advocacy skills

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Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge and Skills • Degree level education or other relevant further education in nursing (preferred), health or science • Minimum of three years’ experience within oncology or clinical research setting or relevant experience demonstrating the appropriate competencies skills for the job and clinical setting • Knowledge of the NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research • Demonstrated ability to consult and liaise with a range of health professionals in the establishment and maintenance of studies/clinical trials • Experience in clinical research with tissue/blood sample collections, processing and storage • Demonstrated data collection and management skills • Demonstrated skills in process development and improvement • Demonstrated computer literacy Desirable Criteria • Registered Nurse qualification - Division 1 or Division 2 in Victoria • Phlebotomy skills • Driver’s license. Occupational Health and Safety • Comply with institute Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. • Take reasonable care of own safety and the safety of others around. • Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety devices appropriately. • Report all hazards, incidents and injuries. • Attend training programs as documented in individual training needs matrices. Diversity At the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute we embrace diversity amongst our staff and students and know the importance of an inclusive workplace culture to the success of our organisation. We are actively committed to achieving gender equality across our workforce. The institute has a range of policies and initiatives in place to address under-representation of women at senior levels and to support people with caring responsibilities. We have a strong commitment to the process of reconciliation and creating meaningful employment and training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We encourage applications from people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, people with a disability, and people from the LGBTQIA+ community. Privacy notification The collection and handling of declarations and personal information relevant to your employment will be consistent with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988.

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