- PhD in cancer biology, cell biology, systems biology, biotechnology, or related discipline
- Knowledge of cancer biology and cancer therapeutics
- Experience writing manuscript for publication
- Experience performing mammalian cell culture
- Experience performing lentiviral production, Western blotting, flow cytometry, FACS
- Experience using CRISPR
- Experience performing cell viability and apoptosis assays
- Experience using molecular cloning
Staff / Senior Scientist - Hinxton, United Kingdom - Wellcome Sanger Institute
Description
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity's greatest challenges.
About the Role:
Substantial CRISPR-Cas9 screening datasets have been generated and initial computational pipelines established. You will support the analysis and interpretation of these unique data, as well as lead the mechanistic validation of candidate target combinations. Specifically, this includes applying cancer therapeutics knowledge to guide the analysis and interpretation of large-scale screening datasets to gain novel insights. Additionally, you will use a range of cutting-edge cellular and molecular biology techniques to validate target combinations emerging from these analyses.
You will be expected to contribute significantly to the drafting of manuscripts reporting their work and to present their work at internal meetings, as well as national and international conferences. This is a superb opportunity to leverage unique datasets and to work at the interface of academic research and industry.
This is a 2 year, fixed-term contract and we will consider Staff or Senior Scientist applicants, dependent on skills and experience.
About the Team:
Drug combination therapies for cancer can provide new treatments for patients and combat drug resistance. You will join a multidisciplinary team performing large-scale two-gene CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens in cancer cell lines to systematically identify and validate target combinations.
The position is based in the Garnett lab ( which are world-leaders in functional genomics. The teams' research is at the interface of cancer genomics, cell biology and cancer therapeutics and employs high-throughput biology approaches together with detailed mechanistic studies. Work from the lab has contributed to key cancer resources, including the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database, Project Score, The Cancer Dependency Map, and the Human Cancer Model Initiative.
The position is funded by Open Targets, which is a public-private partnership that uses human genetics and genomics data for systematic drug target identification and prioritisation ( The project is a collaboration between the Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI: Petsalaki lab) and the pharmaceutical companies as part of the Open Targets research community.
About you:
You will have an interest in cancer therapeutics and the application of functional genomics for cancer drug discovery. The role is primarily experimental wet lab-based, but some experience coding and working with large-scale datasets is desirable. Ideally, you will have experience designing and using CRISPR-based approaches to regulate gene function expression and provide mechanistic insights in cancer cells. You will have experience using a wide range of molecular and cellular biology skills including molecular cloning, lentivirus generation, DNA and RNA extraction, mammalian cell culture, Q-PCR, Western blotting, flow cytometry, and performing cell viability assays.
You will be interested in multi-disciplinary team-based research, demonstrate intellectual curiosity and the potential for developing their skills in new scientific directions.
Essential Skills:
Additional information:
Salary: Staff Scientist £44,890 - £53,330 / Senior Staff Scientist £53,717 - £63,814
Contract: 2 years
Closing date: 24th April 2024
Application: Please apply with your CV and cover letter, detailing how to meet the requirements listed above.
Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger:
We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks, LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.
We want our people to be whoever they want to be because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work. That's why we're committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.
Our Benefits:
We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.
Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018. The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.