Senior Laboratory Research Scientist - Neural Circuits and Immunity in Psychosis Lab

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Short summary

The Neural Circuits and Immunity in Psychosis laboratory, led by Katharina Schmack, is seeking a maternity cover for our Senior Laboratory Research Scientist (SLRS). The postholder will support the operations and science in this lab. Responsibilities include managing the day-to-day operations of the lab, supporting in-vivo behavioural experiments in mice and training PhD students and postdocs.

We study the biological mechanisms underlying psychosis. Our goal is to develop new biological treatments for psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, and to generate fundamental insights into how the brain generates perceptions and thoughts. We are working on the interface of psychiatry, neuroscience, and immunology. We are committed to visionary and rigorous science that is driven by shared passion and individual growth, and that pushes the boundaries of biological knowledge relevant to disease. We study human patients and mice using a range of methods including psychometric experiments, computational modelling, targeted neural circuit manipulations, and immunological techniques.

Lab web page: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/katharina-schmack

Key Responsibilities

• Day-to-day management of lab operations including

• • Order and manage of lab materials and consumables,
  • Organise lab and team meetings

• Represent the lab inside and outside the Crick

• • Attend hub meetings
  • Communicate with operations staff as needed

• Support organisational-administrative tasks

• • Write and manage risk assessments of the lab
  • Support drafting of amendments and reports related to our animal licence

• Oversee software and data organisation across the laboratory
• Support lab members, including PhD students

• • providing advice and guidance as required
  • coordinate onboarding of new lab members
  • train lab members as needed

• Encourage a positive and motivating lab atmosphere 

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 will be 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 15/04/2024
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.