Research Assistant Hammersmith, England
Job description
The advertised position will be working in Dr Andrew Cowburn’s research group within the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Vascular Science department, Faculty of Medicine. Our laboratory is interested in how low oxygen levels (hypoxia) impact patho-physiology in lung disease. Progressive inflammatory damage to lung tissue leads to profound local, and ultimately systemic, hypoxia. Our research focuses on understanding how hypoxia affects leukocyte function, and how this contributes to inflammatory lung disease progression and cardiovascular complications. We are also interested in the impact of extreme environments on physiological responses. We use a combination of human tissue/blood samples from healthy volunteers and patients with lung diseases, and experimental rodent models of hypoxia and lung injury.
The post-holder will be involved in the characterisation of physiological responses to hypoxia, and the investigation of mechanisms of hypoxia-driven inflammatory lung/cardiovascular disease, including testing novel therapeutics. The post-holder will process blood samples for leukocyte isolation and conduct various in vitro assays, including cell culture under hypoxia.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the direction of the line manager, you will be involved in:
Planning and executing experiments using the following techniques:- Leukocyte (neutrophil and peripheral blood mononuclear cell) isolation
- In vitro cell culture (including leukocytes and endothelial cells)
- Cell culture using a hypoxia workstation
- Cell staining and flow cytometry
- ELISA
- DNA/RNA extraction and quantification
- Western blot
- Collection, preparation, processing and storage of samples
- Experimentation with primary cells
The role will also involve other duties that include:
General laboratory administrative duties including ordering- Maintaining stocks of cell lines, and routine supplies
- Documentation and analysis of experimental data
- Participation in local laboratory meetings
- Good laboratory practice
- Assisting with presentation of results to the group
- Liaison with collaborators
- Helping to maintain a highly efficient working laboratory
- Undertaking any necessary training as required
Candidates will also have the opportunity to be involved with the development of the extreme human physiology lab, including the possibility of supervising undergraduate research projects, with additional teaching opportunities.
Essential requirements
- Hold a degree in life sciences or equivalent relevant laboratory based experience
- Experience in laboratory-based research, including preparation, processing and storage of blood and/or cell samples
- Excellent in vitro cell culture practice
- Knowledge of basic research methods and statistical procedures
- Computer literacy including Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint
- Ability to work with limited supervision and keep records
- Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Be prepared to have an active involvement with daily running of the laboratory
- Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times
Further information
This is a Part Time and Fixed Term post based at the Hammersmith Campus, London.
Candidates are preferred to evenly split the part time working hours (17.5 hours) over 4-5 days during standard office hours (9am – 5pm, Monday - Friday). Initial contract is 6 months, extendable on probation.
Should you require any further details on the role please contact: Dr Andrew Cowburn - [email protected] or Dr Katharine Lodge - [email protected].
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: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/
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.http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/
Documents
- Job-Description-Research-Assistant- DA.pdf
