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Job description

Salary:
Research Assistant: £29,619 to £31,411 per annum
Research Associate: £32,348 to £34,308 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: 19 February 2023

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a researcher to join our team. You will work in the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research under the supervision of Professor Rob Taylor and will be characterising human primary cell lines and models affected by novel mitochondrial disease gene variants and developing genome-wide CRISPR screens.

This post is to support on-going research within the Genomics and Gene Discovery team. You will have a very strong background in studying cellular models of mitochondrial dysfunction in relation to human genetic disease. Further, it is essential that you have extensive experience in using CRISPR/Cas genome editing technologies, human cell culture, protein techniques, cellular subfractionation and the preparation of mitochondrial samples, cloning/plasmid construction and confocal light microscopy imaging.

This post will require you to prioritize work with readily available access to guidance for non-standard work activity. They will also be requirement to run standard analyses and record results in an agreed format.

This post is fixed term until 30th April 2024.

For informal enquiries contact: Professor Rob Taylor – [email protected]

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 (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Ability to work well as part of a team and rapidly acquire new skills
• Detailed subject knowledge in the area of research (mitochondrial biology and disease, development and optimisation of CRISPR-based cellular models and screens)
• 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.
• Expertise in human cell culture
• Expertise in relevant molecular, cellular and biochemical biology techniques, such as genome editing, plasmid construction, qRT-PCR, native PAGE, denaturing SDS PAGE, western blotting, and cellular and mitochondrial sub-fractionation
• Excellent communication skills

Desirable

• Lentiviral transduction of cell lines
• Good information technology and computing skills
• Bioinformatics skills

Attributes and Behaviour

• Strong background in cellular and molecular biology
• Experience of presenting research work at scientific meetings

Desirable

• Previous experience in mitochondrial research, with a particular interest in mitochondrial gene expression in higher eukaryotes
• Experience in the following techniques is highly desirable: assessment of mitochondrial function in live cells and live cell imaging
• Experience in analysing whole exome sequencing datasets

Qualifications

• Excellent undergraduate degree in the life sciences
• Good honours degree (or equivalent) with some subject knowledge in the relevant area (Research Assistant)
• A PhD in biochemistry, molecular genetics, cell biology (Research Associate)

Newcastle is an inclusive global University community 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 Global 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 our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University is also a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 25070