Research Assistant/Associate - Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom - Newcastle University

Description

Salary:

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 06 June 2024

The Role

Your role: Our lab has demonstrated that cellular senescence is induced by Chemotherapy. Through the production of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which is pro-senescent, pro-fibrotic and pro-hypertrophic, we hypothesise that senescent cells promote adverse myocardial remodelling. This ultimately impairs cardiac dysfunction. Our goal now is to characterises these senescent cells and find novel way to target them to improve cardiovascular health outcomes for cancer survivors.

The project: Improved diagnosis and treatment have significantly increased cancer patient survival. However, cardiotoxicity leading to heart failure is a major complication of many anti-cancer therapies and a growing healthcare problem, cardiovascular disease now being the leading cause of death in cancer survivors. Senescence is a cellular fate defined by cell cycle exit, mitochondrial dysfunction and the expression of the pro-senescent, pro-fibrotic and pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype and is a recognised outcome of chemotherapy. Our data from mouse models in which myocardial senescence has been induced by various stimuli (irradiation, natural ageing or ischaemia reperfusion) suggest that an accumulation of cardiac senescence leads to myocardial dysfunction by promoting myocardial remodelling. In this project, we aim to translate these studies by using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and primary cells to establish in vitro models of chemotherapy-induced senescence in several human cardiac cell lineages. These models will be utilised to characterise the senescent phenotype in order to identify prognostic biomarkers of cardiac dysfunction, molecular therapeutic targets, and identification of novel cardio-senotherapeutic compounds for mitigation of chemotherapy-induced heart failure.

This post is fixed term for a period 3 years.

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role.

For informal enquiries contact:

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here:

Find out more about our Research Institutes here:

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Key Accountabilities

• Although working under the general guidance of an academic or Principal Investigator, the postholder will contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of their studies, thus providing substantial 'added value'
• Develop and carry out the specified project using appropriate techniques and equipment as outlined in the personal requirements
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research, with advice and support where required
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding
• Begin to write, with appropriate support, proposals for individual research funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations
• Contribute to the writing up of their research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline
• May be involved in the supervision, with guidance, of final year undergraduate research projects and in providing support to postgraduate research students or Research Assistants
• Will need to work with the support staff and, on occasions, with undergraduate and postgraduate students, and interact intellectually with other academic members of the Institute.
• May contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities
• Develop an awareness of University structures, policies and procedures and relevant issues in the higher education, research, social and political environment

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
• Detailed subject knowledge in cardiovascular senescence and cardiotoxicity
• Likelihood of advanced skills directly related to the research projects
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capability
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others
• Experience of research with clear transferable skills and some experience or awareness of the research environment
• Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications
• Experience in cardiomyocytes cell culture and models of senescence
• Documented experience in engagement activities
• Have expertise in immunohistochemistry and molecular biology techniques. For example, experience in histological slide preparation and immunofluorescent staining, RNA extraction, qPCR, western blotting and flow cytometry and toxicity assays
• Experience and knowledge of cardiovascular senescence and cardiotoxicity
• A good understanding of statistical analysis

Attributes and Behaviour

• Good team communication skills
• Experience and documented awards for public speaking and conference presentations

Qualifications

• To have (for Research Associate) or be close to obtaining a PhD (for Research Assistant) in cardiovascular senescence and cardiotoxicity

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 27164