Postdoctoral Training Fellow - Immune Cell Biology (Tybulewicz Lab)

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London        

Contract: Fixed-term, 4 years, Full time

Short summary

The Tybulewicz lab is studying signalling pathways that control the biology of B and T lymphocytes. In particular we are working on pathways that control lymphocyte activation, differentiation, survival, adhesion and migration. We use a broad range of techniques including mouse genetics, biochemistry, imaging, proteomics, transcriptomics and cellular immunology. The lab currently consists of around 13 researchers including PhD students, postdocs and laboratory research scientists. For more information see the lab website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/victor-tybulewicz  

Postdoctoral Training Fellows are expected to lead their own projects, contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis (both in the lab and with external collaborators) and guide PhD students in their research. The ability to work in a team is essential.

Key responsibilities

These include but are not limited to: 

• Develop and lead an independent research project
• Contribute to work of others in the group and in the wider Crick research community
• Establish collaborations

Project summary

We have previously shown that the WNK1 kinase regulates T cell migration and adhesion (Köchl et al, 2016. Nat Immunol, 17, 1075-1083 ). In unpublished work we have found that WNK1 also regulates T cell activation and discovered a novel and unexpected signalling pathway that regulates ion and water flux across the plasma membrane, which is essential for T cell migration and activation, thereby opening up an exciting new area of investigation.

The proposed research will focus on how the WNK1 pathway and ion and water flux regulate T cell migration and activation. The work will look at the role of ion and water transporters in the regulation of these processes. The postdoc will be able to expand their studies into other areas of signalling in T cells. The work will involve mouse genetics, imaging, biochemistry, CRISPR screens, optogenetics, microfluidics, proteomics or transcriptomics. The work is funded by a BBSRC grant.

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute is world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy. 

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• The closing date for applications is 24 Aug 2021 at 23:59.
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.