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 Cancer Laboratory and Melbourne Health Tissue Bank Manager Leanne Taylor Positions reporting to this one: Nil Position overview The Walter and Eliza Hall 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 Victoria 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. Page 1 of 6 RSC VCCC2019 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 Australia’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, infection, inflammation, 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 La Trobe University’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 Royal Melbourne Hospital), The University of Melbourne, 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. Page 2 of 6 WEHI PD_Research Tissue Coordinator Position description – Research Tissue Coordinator July 2019 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 cancers,