Ulster University has received £1.2m in funding for medical education and research from Randox Laboratories, which it will also use to create its first Professor of Medicine post.
The university is opening its first School of Medicine this August within its Magee campus.
The new position will be titled the Randox Professor of Medicine and will be both a clinical and academic role, which will be supported by the diagnostic solutions firm for a period of five years.
Professor Louise Dubras, Foundation Dean of the university's School of Medicine said she is "looking for an outstanding candidate with a wealth of teaching experience and a passion for related research which will inform teaching."
The post will report into Prof Dubras and recruitment will commence in the coming weeks.
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Alongside education, the post-holder will develop a research portfolio in line with the research strategy of the School of Medicine and ambitions included in the Health Research Institute-THRIVE (HRI-THRIVE) Project, as part of the Derry and Strabane City Deal.
They will have the opportunity to collaborate with existing researchers in personalised medicine and influence the research and innovation direction of the proposed THRIVE Research Units that currently include:
The successful appointee will also deliver clinical care within the Western Trust, contributing directly to patient care and improving health outcomes for the local community.
Dr Catherine McDonnell, Medical Director at the Western Trust said it "is a unique opportunity, and shows what can be achieved with collaborative working and by forging partnerships between organisations."
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Professor Paul Bartholomew, Vice-Chancellor at Ulster University added that by opening the School of Medicine in August, the university is "committing to address the acute shortage of doctors in Northern Ireland and to recruit students and staff who will be locally focused yet globally ambitious."
"The appointment of the Randox Professor of Medicine will enable us to further this ambition and allow us to enhance the university’s existing expertise and research excellence in personalised medicine diagnostics and contribute to expanding the medical diagnostics sector," he continued.
“The university sees the ground breaking Randox Professorship as an opportunity to further our long standing partnership with Randox so that we might together have a unique opportunity to support clinical medicine, enhance the quality of patient care through highly relevant translational research and inspire the next generation of doctors.”
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