Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Laboratory-based Sciences

University-of-Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, within the Department of Engineering Science in Headington, seeks a full-time Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Laboratory-based Sciences. The post is funded by the UKRI-EPSRC Programme Grant and fixed-term to 30 September 2027, reporting to Dr.

Dario Carugo. You will work on Beyond Antibiotics, integrating ultrasound with biological models to study antimicrobial effects and host tissue responses.

Qualifications

• PhD/DPhil in bioengineering or related discipline.
• Experience with in vitro or ex vivo tissue models.
• Experience with ultrasound generation/detection probes and signal/data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Carry out research for a discrete area of a large project.
• Provide guidance to junior researchers and students.
• Perform bio-analytical assays on treated biological models.
• Integrate ultrasound instrumentation with biological models.

Skills

Lab research

Bioengineering background

Ultrasound instrumentation

Mentoring

Education

PhD in bioengineering/biochemistry/biophysics/biotechnology

Tools

Ultrasound probes

Bioanalytical assays

Job description

Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Laboratory-based Sciences

Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Old Road Campus

We are seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Laboratory-based Sciences

to join the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Department of Engineering Science (Headington). The post is funded by the UKRI-EPSRC Programme Grant and is fixed‑term to 30 September 2027.

The post holder will work under the EPSRC-funded Beyond Antibiotics research programme and report to project Co‑Investigator Dr. Dario Carugo. They will work collaboratively with other researchers in the programme, to specifically evaluate the effect of clinically viable physical stimuli (primarily biomedical ultrasound, with/without ultrasound‑responsive agents) on the antimicrobial/antibiofilm efficacy of antibiotics and on the host tissue physiology. To achieve this, they will integrate physical instrumentation (such as ultrasound probes) with complex in‑vitro biological models already developed within the research programme, and they’ll perform bio‑analytical assays on the treated biological models. The programme has a specific focus on the development of human‑relevant models of urinary tract and wound‑associated infections, which can be employed to evaluate or develop more efficacious and safer alternatives to conventional antibiotic treatments.

You will be a member of a research group with responsibility for carrying out research for a discrete area of a large project. You will also provide guidance to less experienced members of the research group, including postdocs, research assistants, technicians, and/or doctoral and project students.

You should hold a PhD/DPhil in the areas of bioengineering, biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, and/or other related discipline, and be experienced in the development and/or use of biological models for therapy evaluation purposes, such as in‑vitro or ex‑vivo tissue models. The post also requires experience in the use of ultrasound generation/detection probes, and the associated electronic instrumentation and signal/data analysis techniques.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Dario Carugo [e-mail].

For more information about working at the Department, see

www.eng.ox.ac.uk/about/work-with-us/

The Department holds an Athena Swan Bronze award, highlighting its commitment to promoting women in Science, Engineering and Technology.

Salary (£) : Grade 7: £39,424 - £47,779 per annum, including Oxford University Weighting (OUW)