MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist LMS 1622

View Vacancy -- MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist LMS 1622
Open Date
26/07/2021, 01:00
Close Date
23/08/2021, 23:55
Research Institute  
MRC London Institute of Medical Science
Research Institute / Unit Information  

The London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a Medical Research Council funded research institute at the Hammersmith Hospital campus (London W12) of Imperial College London, with around 400 biomedical researchers undertaking multidisciplinary and internationally-competitive science. 

For more information, visit www.lms.mrc.ac.uk.

UK Research and Innovation is a new entity that brings together nine partners to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, more information can be found at www.ukri.org
Band  
MRC - 4
Location  
London
Salary  
£32,302 - £35,143 plus London Allowances (£3,727 - £1,402) per annum
Allowances  
Additional allowances comprise of a £1,000 lump sum Settlement Allowance plus a yearly Training Allowance of £850 in the first year, paid in monthly instalments. The Training Allowance increases to £1,300 in year two, and £1,800 in the third year.
Contract Type  
Fixed Term
Job Type  
Science
Full Time / Part Time  
Full Time
Contract Length  
3 years
Job Description  

Overall purpose:

Research in the group is focused on understanding the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromatin and how complex epigenetic regulation has evolved.

The post-holder will contribute to the group’s efforts in this area. In addition, the post-holder will pro-actively develop her/his own research question within the group’s areas of interest and expertise and aim to establish a self-driven research program.

Main Responsibilities:

• To plan and carry out research in accordance with agreed project aims
• To attend all project and related research group meetings
• To interact and collaborate with researchers in related projects
• Write-up and publication of work in peer-reviewed journals
• To take an active part in the academic activities of the LMS
• To attend and contribute to journal clubs and seminar presentations
• To present data at national and international meetings (where and when appropriate)
• To form good working relationships with other members of the group as well as internal and external collaborators
• To assist others and co-supervise students when required
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the group’s experimental or computational infrastructure as appropriate; this may include acting as laboratory manager (in charge of ordering communal supplies, keeping risk assessments up to date, carrying out safety briefings for new starters)

Applicants should have a PhD or equivalent in a relevant subject area (microbiology, genetics, chromatin biology), an excellent publication record and a commitment to scientific excellence. Substantial experience in an area relevant to the group’s research focus is required.

Person Specification  

Education / Qualifications / Training required (will be assessed from application form):

Essential:

• PhD (or equivalent) in microbial or chromatin biology. Excellent candidates from other backgrounds will be considered

Previous work experience required ( will be assessed from application form and at interview):

Essential:

• Substantive experience in the genetic manipulation of microbes (especially S. cerevisiae) including using genome engineering approaches such as CRISPR
• Prior experience with the generation of genome-wide screens or functional genomics assays (e.g. DNA-protein binding, RNA-Seq)
• Experience in the analysis of such data
• Knowledge of molecular biology techniques for the genetic manipulation of prokaryotes including strain construction, antibiotic resistance and fitness assays

Desirable:

• Prior experience with the processing and analysis of genome-wide data sets
• Evidence of high-level proficiency in at least one programming language (Java, Python, etc.)
• High-level proficiency in a programmatic statistics language (ideally R)

Knowledge and experience ( will be assessed from application form and at interview):

Essential:

• Familiarity with statistical methods commonly employed in the analysis of genome-wide data sets
• A strong publication record, with evidence that the applicant can plan and independently carry out experimental and computational projects

Desirable:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to write clearly and succinctly for publication and potential fellowship applications
• A keen interest in and basic familiarity with evolutionary processes and how they can be detected from biological sequence data

Personal skills/behaviours/qualities ( will be assessed and at interview):

Essential:

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team (both in situ and remotely with international collaborators)
• Evidence of ability to conduct research independently, from the planning stages to execution and write-up
• The desire to learn about previously unfamiliar biological systems (both eukaryotic and prokaryotic), to acquire new computational and analytical skills and to pro-actively seek novel and creative solutions to scientific problems
• Willingness to share knowledge and skills with other members of the group on a daily basis
• Good written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to constructively criticize one’s own and others results

Further Information  
For full details of this post and to complete an online application, upload your CV, names and contacts of two scientific references along with a covering letter stating why you are applying for this role (providing evidence against the requirements of the job as per the job description and person specification). 
The MRC is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions.The MRC is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the MRC name brings. The MRC is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.
Choosing to come to work at the MRC (part of UKRI) means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement to access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme, as well as the chance to put the MRC and UKRI on your CV in the future.
Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We welcome applications from all sections of the community irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. As "Disability Confident" employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.
UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider whether this conflicts with your personal values or beliefs.
We will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as an essential part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.