PDRA in the Biophysical Characterisation of Genomic Medicines

About us

This position is a key part of the UCL-Cytiva Centre of Excellence (CoE), led by UCL Biochemical Engineering and our industrial partner Cytiva. The CoE is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnership initiative. It plays a critical role in cutting edge research in filtration, separation and purification. The UCL-Cytiva CoE Prosperity Partnership Vision is to address the challenges of manufacturing revolutionary genomic medicines. The partnership will improve patient access to transformative therapies and establish manufacturing innovation in a high-growth sector for societal and economic impact.

About the role

A new Post Doctoral Research Associate position in the biophysical characterisation of genomic medicines is available in the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. The position aims to improve the understanding of adeno-associated virus (AAV) properties during bioprocessing and their impact on impurity generation. AAV is an increasingly-popular viral vector for cell-and-gene therapies, ensuring the safety of AAV-based therapies for patients. The project will utilize cutting-edge bioanalytical technology from UCL and Cytiva’s resin technologies.

The postholder will be part of the UCL-Cytiva CoE team. The UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering offers excellent research facilities, including a £25m bioprocessing pilot plant. The post-holder will benefit from working in the Manufacturing Future Lab at UCL East and will become a member of John Hales’ group, focused on enhancing biopharmaceutical safety through next-gen analytical technologies.

Interaction with UCL colleagues and industrial partners will require excellent team-working and communication skills. The post holder will be responsible for original experimental research, reporting project progress, and preparing and submitting research papers.

About you

Relevant PhD and experience in job specification.

All candidates must meet the essential criteria, and we encourage candidates who may not meet all the desirable criteria to apply as the successful candidate can grow within the role.

For informal enquiries, please contact John Hales:

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 holidays 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 ou r commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/