Job responsibilities
Applicants should have CCT or be on the GMC Specialist Register. Applicants who are within six months of obtaining their CCT on the date of the AAC may also apply. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate excellent communication skills, to a professional standard, in spoken and written English. Where equivalent qualifications or experience are being offered, it is essential that candidates should provide confirmation of this from the relevant College or Faculty in the United Kingdom and attach the confirmation to your application. Applicants must have significant experience in the diagnosis and management of haematological malignancies (both posts) and cellular therapy including allogeneic stem cell transplantation (post 1).
When applying please remember to include your CCT date in the membership of professional bodies section of the online application form, which is where you must also record your GMC number.
The Department of Haematology currently comprises 14 Consultant Haematologists (11 NHS substantive, and 3 Clinical Academic/Honorary Consultants) together with a large team of junior medical staff and specialist nurses and works closely with the Lymphoma team (7 Consultants in Haematology and Medical/Clinical Oncology). The department is a BCSH level 3 tertiary centre and receives referrals from across the North West of England and North Wales for treatment of patients with haematological malignancies and for stem cell transplantation. Inpatients are treated in a purpose built 31 bed facility (opened 2014) which is co-located with the regional teenage and young adult (TYA) service and adjacent to a 12-bay ambulatory care unit opened in 2019.
These job plan for these posts will be split between early phase trials in haematological malignancies (5PA) and related clinical services (5PA).
Haemato-Oncology Early Phase Research
The Departments of Haematology and Lymphoma at the Christie have an established track record in the delivery of clinical trials with a large portfolio of existing studies. The Christie is part of the CRUK/NIHR funded Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Network and the consultant team includes Key Opinion Leaders and leading Clinician Scientists. It is designated a trials centre by major national charities including Bloodwise (Therapy Accelerator Program - TAP), Myeloma UK (Phase 1 Centre), and IMPACT (Stem Cell Transplant Trials). We are one of very few UK centres with experience in delivering the full breadth of emerging treatment technologies including solid and haematological tumour directed CAR-T and T-cell engaging antibody immunotherapies.
Professor Tim Somervaille and Dr Dan Wiseman lead internationally recognised research programs in stem cell and myeloid disease within the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) and Dr Mark Williams was awarded an MRC Fellowship by the University of Manchester to develop a program of research in Stem Cell Transplantation in 2022. This has provided an outstanding environment for early phase researchers to build and develop collaborations in both clinical and translational research.
In the 2019 internal strategic review of the University of Manchester Haemato-Oncology Research Centre (UM-HORC) many strengths were identified including practice-changing investigator-led clinical and translational lymphoma research and basic, translational, and clinical research in myeloid malignancies & haematopoiesis. In the proposed 2025 Vision for the University of Manchester Haemato-Oncology Research Centre (see figure below) translation is at the centre of the research plan. This post would span all three disease areas, allow outreach and multi-disciplinary team participation to our neighbouring centres, support scientists and clinician scientists in the translation of bench top research, increase the number of studies for which The Christie is the Chief Investigator site and thus make a significant contribution to the successful achievement of this vision.
Development of early phase studies as part of is one of the foundations to achieving our strategy. In 2020, we appointed our first Consultant dedicated to early phase research. This appointment has been hugely successful, leading to a 100% increase in trial recruitment (figure below) and the size of the research team (from 8 to 15 members of staff). Demand from patients and referring centres has exceeded expectations and appointment of additional consultants (including this post) will facilitate continued development of the service.
CRUK Manchester Institute re-build
Following a fire in 2017, the University of Manchester, CRUK and The Christie, announced plans in 2018 for the future of the Paterson building site at The Christie on Wilmslow Road to replace the damaged CRUK Manchester Institute. The ambition for the Paterson Redevelopment Project (due to open 2023) is to create one of the worlds top five cancer research centres that translates discoveries in the laboratory into improved outcomes for patients around the world. The multi-million pound development will be led by The Christie and will create a state-of-the-art facility for biomedical research and facilitate enhanced interaction between clinicians and scientists
Biobanking
The Christie is part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC), which also includes as core partners The University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS FT, Cancer Research UK, and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. The MCRC was established in 2006 and Haematological Malignancy Research is one of the five main research themes of this highly successful organisation. Recent major successes have included the MCRCs designation as one of only two Cancer Research UK Major Centres in the United Kingdom, the other being the University of Cambridge. Research on the site is supported by major grant funding from Cancer Research UK, Bloodwise, the Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund as well as other charities and commercial organisations. In addition to laboratory scientific and translational research, clinical trials research, both early phase and phase 3, make up a major part of the work of the clinical Departments of Haematology and Medical Oncology
Stem Cell Transplantation and CAR-T service
The Christie Stem Cell Transplant Program was established in 1982 since when it has performed over 3000 procedures (autologous, allogeneic, and alternate donor). In recent years the department undertakes between 120 and 160 procedures annually for patients with haematological malignancies (data shown in figure below). The department has been fully JACIE accredited since 2009. In 2017, the Christie was selected as the second donor centre outside London by Anthony Nolan and in 2022 was selected as a national donor centre for the Delete Blood Cancer Registry (DKMS).
In 2018 the program was accredited as one of 7 UK phase 1 treatment centres for delivery of CAR-T therapy. Advanced cellular therapies (CAR-T, tumour infiltrating lymphocytes) have been used at the Christie for over 10 years as part of clinical trials and we will be treating the first standard of care patients for lymphoma and leukaemia in 2019. CAR-T activity for both haematological and solid tumours is anticipated to grow significantly over the next few years. The Trust has supported a comprehensive business case to support the delivery of this service.
As well as delivery of routinely commissioned therapies, the Christie has a strong research program for development and delivery of novel treatments in clinical trials. In 2018, the Christie was awarded £6.9m from Innovate UK (one of 3 successful awards in the UK) to support the iMATCH program which is a Christie led collaboration between 3 NHS Trusts, University of Manchester and 7 industry partners to support the development of advanced therapies for the region. This is part of a UK wide network of 5 Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres which will increase the ability of the NHS to deliver these state-of-the-art treatments.
