Research Technician London, England
Job description
About us
The UCL Cancer Institute is the hub for cancer research at University College London, one of the World's leading universities. The Institute draws together over 400 talented scientists who are working together to translate research discoveries into developing kinder, more effective therapies for cancer patients. In particular, it fosters links between basic cancer researchers across Biomedicine and with the clinical activities of our four partner hospital trusts, known as UCL Partners (University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust), as well as the London School of Pharmacy and Cancer Research UK. The Institute has greater clinical links than any comparable centre in the UK, creating a unique opportunity for significant impact on the delivery of clinical service to cancer patients. The Cancer Institute includes the Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre which is one of the largest cancer trials centres in the UK conducting multi-centre national and international phase III trials, feasibility studies and early phase I and II studies. Also embedded within the UCL Cancer Institute, the CRUK-UCL Centre provides essential infrastructure to support cancer research within UCL and is a major catalyst in the success of UCL in integrating translational and clinical cancer research with excellent basic science. Furthermore, the Institute offers educational programmes that reflect the depth and breadth of research expertise that include BSc Cancer Biomedicine, iBSc Oncology, MSc Cancer and PhD studies. Further Information about the UCL Cancer Institute can be found on our website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer/
About the role
Applications should include a CV and a Cover Letter: In the Cover Letter please evidence the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the Job Description. (By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the 'Why you have applied for this role' field in the application form, which is limited in the number of characters it will allow). We are offering the position of Research Technician working between the research groups of Dr Jamie Dean (computational) in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and Dr Lucy Brooks (experimental) in the Division of Cancer Biology, based in the UCL Cancer Institute. The post holder will be based at the UCL Cancer Institute, the hub for cancer research at UCL, one of the World's leading universities. Located in the Paul O’ Gorman building, the Institute offers outstanding research facilities for mechanistic research, including modern laboratory space, state-of-the-art flow cytometry, imaging and sequencing platforms. About the group The Computational Radiation Biology and Oncology Lab, led by Dr Jamie Dean aims to improve radiation therapy through a deep understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of resistance. To achieve this, we are taking a highly innovative multidisciplinary and collaborative approach, using cutting edge wet lab techniques to generate complex datasets for mathematical modelling of molecular and cellular radiation response dynamics. We are using a variety of approaches ranging from single cell sequencing, advanced microscopy and image analysis to animal models for generation of this data. The lab is part of the Cancer Research UK City of London Radiation Research Unit. The unit features an ambitious research programme for radiation oncology and radiation biology called RadNet (https://crukradnet.colcc.ac.uk). This unique interdisciplinary and collaborative network, bringing together researchers from four of the central London Cancer Research UK centres: University College London, King’s College London, Barts/Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute will accelerate the development of advanced radiotherapy techniques, challenging the boundaries of this mainstay treatment through world-first exploratory projects. The post is funded for 15 months in the first instance. Opportunities to continue beyond the initial funded period will be discussed with potential candidates.
About you
Successful candidates must have (or be about to complete) a Bachelors or Masters degree in any area of biology. The ability to work independently and under own initiative plus the ability to design research studies and learn new skills are essential. Prior knowledge of cancer and/or radiation biology is not necessary. Experience with cell culture, microscopy and previous experience working as a Research Technician are desirable but not essential.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan On-Site nursery On-site gym Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service Discounted medical insurance
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
