Postdoctoral Research Associate

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Grade 7 Incremental Scale: yes Starting Salary: £34,304

Full Time, 3 Years Fixed Term

Keele University is renowned for its exciting approach to higher education, innovative research, beautiful campus, strong community spirit and excellent student experience.  With a turnover in excess of £170 million, over 10,000 students and a total staff of approximately 2000, the University provides high quality teaching across a wide range of academic and vocational subjects and promotes world-class research.  Further information can be found at http://www.keele.ac.uk . This post represents an exciting opportunity to join a team of staff in Keele University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Research within this Faculty has enjoyed significant success, especially in the recent REF2021, with Keele now seen as a major international centre for clinical and translational studies into musculoskeletal disorders, primary care and regenerative medicine.

We are seeking an ambitious and self-motivated postdoctoral researcher to join our multi-disciplinary team within the Human Stem Cell Engineering group in the School of Pharmacy & Bioengineering, under Dr. Vinoj George (Lecturer in Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine). The post aligns with a recently awarded Humane Research Trust project grant embracing cross-disciplinary technology (gene engineering and advanced molecular neuro-oncology) to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with a common malignant paediatric brain tumour called ependymoma. The project will be based in Keele at the Guy Hilton Research Centre, Hartshill campus and will be in collaboration with the Neural Tissue Engineering group in Keele (led by Professor Divya Maitreyi Chari, Professor of Neural Tissue Engineering) and the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre in University of Nottingham (led by Dr. Ruman Rahman, Associate Professor of Molecular Neuro-Oncology).

The work will entail endogenous modulation of the most common oncogenic event in ependymoma, ZFTA-RELA using hiPSC-derived neural cell models and optogenetic CRISPR. The groundwork for these has been already established in the lab. This project is hoped to provide useful insights into mechanisms of ependymoma oncogenic response and will be the first use of light-induced gene manipulation of a human cancer mutation in brain cancer research in such an in vitro model. Through functional genomics, the project will further explore targets for medicines, which in turn can be used in these models to predict response to treatments for ependymoma. Therefore, the project also offers an opportunity for a dedicated bioinformatics training.

Candidates should be nearing completion of a PhD or hold a PhD in a relevant biological discipline and should be passionate about interdisciplinary research with a strong interest in new technology development. A large component of this post will be creating novel models at the interface of different fields for translational applications, so while a strong background in molecular and cellular biology, and genetics is essential, candidate with a diverse and wide-ranging set of skills in stem cell biology that complement our team is desirable. A track record of effective communication, teamwork and successful project management, including publication or dissemination of scientific results is essential.

You will be expected to help with mentoring students (MSc, PhD, medical) who come through the laboratory from time to time. You will also be encouraged to write grant/fellowship applications to further your own career in the longer term.

The Benefits

The University recognises that its success depends upon the contribution and dedication of its talented staff. In return, we have a competitive benefits package available, including:  

• Competitive rate of pay with annual increments within the grade 7 (Keele Spine point 30)
• Generous annual leave entitlement with opportunities to purchase additional leave  
• Excellent staff pension scheme   
• Access to continued personal, professional and career development   
• On site ‘outstanding’ nursery    
• Discounted health & fitness facilities on site  
• Cycle to work scheme (subject to eligibility)

Please note that the starting salary will typically be at the bottom of the pay scale shown above.

The University is committed to operating flexible working practices wherever possible. 

Keele University values equality and diversity across our workforce and to ensuring our staff community is reflective of the diversity of our student population. In support of these commitments the University welcomes applications from individuals of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds for all roles.

Please note this appointment is subject to medical clearance by the University’s Occupational Health provider.

For informal enquiries, please address it to Dr. Vinoj George at [email protected] . Applications to this address will not be accepted. 

For further details regarding this vacancy, please click on the following link: Job Description and Person Specification

Keele University employees wishing to apply should login to Employee Self Service and click on the 'View current vacancies' link.

Closing Date: 28th September 2022

Interviews will be held on: 7th October 2022 from 1:30pm

Post reference: KU00002862