13411 - REACT Postdoctoral Research Associate (Genetic Switches for Cardiovascular Diseases)

University of Edinburgh; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A premier educational institution in Edinburgh is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to develop genetic switches for cardiovascular gene therapy. This role offers a 24 month contract with opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and research impact on cardiac diseases. Applicants should hold a PhD in synthetic biology or related fields. Flexible working patterns can be considered.

Qualifications

• PhD (or close to completion) in engineering biology or related subject.
• Experience in engineering biology, RNA biology and molecular biology.
• Experience of mammalian Cell Engineering.
• Excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop controllable genetic switches for cardiovascular treatment.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and industry partners.
• Contribute to pioneering research in gene therapy.

Skills

Engineering biology experience

RNA biology experience

Molecular biology experience

Mammalian Cell Engineering experience

Excellent written communication

Excellent verbal communication

Education

PhD in synthetic/engineering biology or related subject

Job description

UE07 £41,064 - £48,822

College of Science and Engineering / School of Biological Sciences / Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Full-Time 35hrs per week

Fixed Term: 24 months

We are looking to employ a postdoctoral researcher on a 24 month contract to join the research group of Professor Susan Rosser, chair of synthetic biology at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Engineering Biology to work on developing gene switches for use in cardio vascular gene therapy.

The Opportunity

The selected researcher will join an internationally recognised, friendly, diverse, inclusive and enthusiastic team. It is in collaboration with Prof. Brian Bigger, chair of advanced therapeutic and is an excellent opportunity to work at the crossroads of Engineering Biology (Rosser lab) and translational gene therapy (Bigger lab), and generating pioneering research with expected tangible impact for patients suffering from cardiac diseases.

You will become part of the REACT consortium whose mission is to regenerate injured hearts and reverse established damage with genetic medicines. It is a 14-year funded £50M MRC/BHF centre of research of excellence led by King’s College London and co-directed by the University of Edinburgh and Oxford.

As part of this role, you will use an engineering biology-based approach to develop, test and optimise drug-induced controllable genetic switches for use in clinical AAV vectors. We aim to create a control system that is specific, tuneable and with minimal side effects. This will let us iteratively refine these switches to reliably turn therapeutic genes on and off for cardiovascular treatment.

Your work will also closely align to the Engineering Biology for Advanced Therapeutics Hub. The hub, Directed by Prof Rosser, is a £14M 5-year UKRI sponsored research program across 4 institutions (Edinburgh, Oxford, Imperial, CRUK SI) pioneering engineering biology for advanced therapeutics. It is developing novel genetic tools to render gene therapies safe and effective, with initial focus on oncology, cardiovascular diseases and rare diseases.

The post holder will have many opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborative working with academic colleagues from the different institutional partners and industry partners. This includes training and professional development opportunities arising from being embedded and working with communities of translational scientists.

This post offers an excellent opportunity for academic career advancement in a worlds renowned centre of excellence for synthetic/engineering biology. The University of Edinburgh hosts a large diverse, dynamic and multidisciplinary engineering biology community of more than 50 research groups. The University of Edinburgh’s synthetic biology facilities are second-to-none, and include a the Edinburgh Genome Foundry (https://biology.ed.ac.uk/research/facilities/edinburgh-genome-foundry) and Edinomics (https://biology.ed.ac.uk/research/facilities/edinomics).

Applicants must have a PhD in synthetic/engineering biology, molecular biology, RNA biology for appointment at Research Associate level. Applicants close to completion of their PhDs will also be considered where experience is directly relevant. Please see the job description and person specification document associated with this advert for the full list of criteria.

This post is advertised as full-time (35 hours per week), however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns.

Your skills and attributes for success

• PhD (or completion within 3 months) in engineering biology or related subject with synthetic/engineering biology experience
• Experience in engineering biology, RNA biology and molecular biology.
• Experience of mammalian Cell Engineering
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to build rapport with colleagues and collaborators.