Consultant in Infection

The Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) provides frontline clinical specialist diagnostics and advice for rare, imported or hazardous infections. The RIPL clinical/science team has 19 staff (16 whole time equivalent) including medical consultants, a clinical scientist, senior scientists, and registrars/clinical fellows. Operational management and dedicated diagnostic development support are provided by associated units on the Porton site. A key programme is the national Imported Fever Service, a joint venture between RIPL and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (part of UCLH) and the Royal Liverpool Hospital's Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit. RIPL is also the National Laboratory for Lyme disease and provides a specialist clinical advice service. RIPL provides a reference diagnostic services for a wide range of zoonotic, imported, and dangerous pathogens including viral haemorrhagic fevers, the arbovirus group, hantaviruses, rickettsia and coxiella, anthrax, leptospirosis, tularaemia and other biothreat agents. RIPL team members are highly research-active and work closely with wider research teams across UKHSA, including on biosafety and containment, diagnostics, vaccine and therapeutic development, and public health research studies., UKHSA Porton hosts an environmental laboratory testing samples for a range of pathogens from potentially contaminated sites. The site also includes facilities for studies on disease pathogenesis, and testing vaccines and therapeutics against dangerous infectious diseases, and there is a small vaccine production unit. The post-holder is also expected to work closely with the relevant teams at Porton and at other UKHSA sites. The RIPL team also contributes to the UKHSA Rabies service, which is a cross-directorate, cross-group service delivered by multiple groups. The aim of this post is to consolidate some of the rabies activities in line with the development of testing services at Porton. The postholder will also contribute to the wider work of RIPL and will be expected to develop experience in risk assessment and management for the other RIPL-relevant infectious agents, as well as aspects of preventing contamination, environmental sampling and decontamination. They will provide expert consultant support for RIPL and the Imported Fever Service and will be a key part of the team offering advice on diagnosis, management, and infection control for these agents.

• Lead the development of the clinical service for Rabies virus, including working with APHA and key laboratory personnel in UKHSA to improve national testing capabilities, oversight and clinical governance.
• Lead on development of national guidelines as required.
  
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