Research Associate in Genetic Design and Assembly for Gene Therapy - London, United Kingdom - Penna

Description

Job Title: Research Associate in Genetic Design and Assembly for Gene Therapy.

Salary: £45,593 - £53,630 per annum

Location: South Kensington Campus

Closing Date: 17 th April 2024

Job Summary

We are pleased to announce the opening of the above post, following our recent UKRI award which is part of a £14.2m Engineered Genetic Control Systems for Advanced Therapeutics Mission Hub , led by the University of Edinburgh. As part of this award, we are looking for a candidate to help us to build and test new methods for engineering AAVs for therapeutic applications.

Applications are therefore invited for a Research Associate to join the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. You will work closely with members of Professor Geoff Baldwin's Group (). You will be based in Sir Alexander Fleming Building (SAF), South Kensington Campus.

Candidates should be able to start work on 13 May 2024 ,or as soon as possible after.

Specifically, we are looking for someone experienced in synthetic biology approaches to DNA assembly and protein biochemistry (including protein expression in E. coli , purification and ELISA assays). Experience in mammalian AAV expression and AAV delivery in vivo would be welcome but is not essential.

Duties and responsibilities

In this role you will be expected to perform experiments to a high standard.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Assembling DNA expression constructs
• Perform molecular biology techniques including design and molecular cloning of multi-gene cassettes, mutagenesis, PCR and DNA sequencing
• Express and purify proteins
• Develop assays to evaluate AAV particle assembly and packaging
• Present data for interpretation by others.
• Ensure the validity and reliability of data at all times
• Present findings to colleagues, consortium partner meetings and at conferences
• Write up the finding for submission to refereed journals
• Take responsibility for organising resources and effective decision making in support of research
• Direct the work of small research teams including undergraduate and postgraduate students

Essential requirements

• Hold, or be near completion of, a PhD degree (or equivalent) in Biological Sciences or a related field
• Molecular biology skills (DNA design, cloning, PCR etc.)
• Protein biochemistry (Protein expression from a range of organisms, purification and analysis)
• Mammalian cell culture desirable but not essential
• A creative approach to problem-solving
• The ability to organise your own work with minimal supervision and prioritise in response to deadlines
• The ability to supervise others (e.g. Masters and Undergraduate students)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Practical experience within a research environment and publication in relevant and refereed journals

Further Information

This is a full time, fixed-term position until 12 May 2027. You will be based at South Kensington Campus.

Candidates should be able to start work on 13 May 2024 ,or as soon as possible after.

To apply, please complete an online application.

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant.

For enquires about the position, please contact Professor Geoff Baldwin by email: .

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published.For more information, see

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College's care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. /