Research Assistant/Research Associate/SRA in DNA Data Storage and Biosecurity

Salary: £32,546 - £55,755 per annum

Newcastle University offers excellent benefits, including a generous holiday package, pension schemes, and health and wellbeing initiatives.

Closing Date: 07 May 2025

The Role

The Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), part of ICOS, unites scientists from ten UK institutions to engineer micro-organisms for environmental monitoring and pollutant removal. The CYBER project aims to develop multidisciplinary tools to de-risk environmental engineering biology for real-world ecosystem deployment.

We seek a synthetic biologist with computational and experimental expertise interested in Biosecurity and DNA data storage. You will join a consortium dedicated to restoring natural environments by engineering microbial devices secured by cryptographic DNA encoding techniques, ensuring safety and traceability before environmental deployment. You will work closely with experimentalists and have access to advanced computational and bio-nano-technology equipment.

Travel opportunities include visits to UK and international collaborators' labs and attendance at conferences.

To discuss this opportunity, contact Professor Natalio Krasnogor.

For more information, visit the School of Computing and our research pages.

This is a full-time, fixed-term 24-month position with potential extension, starting immediately.

Application involves submitting an online form with your CV and cover letter, demonstrating how you meet the role's requirements.

We support career development with three research role levels, detailing responsibilities and qualifications.

Key Accountabilities

• Design and test cryptographic schemes for data storage in organisms, enhancing biosecurity.
• Evaluate error correction techniques in DNA synthesis, sequencing, and mutation.
• Develop frameworks to assess scheme effectiveness under various conditions.
• Collaborate on wet-lab experiments for validation and improvement.
• Refine algorithms based on experimental data.
• Maintain good software engineering practices.
• Contribute to scientific publications and presentations.

Additional responsibilities for Research Associates and Senior Research Associates

• Contribute to grant writing and public communication.
• Support responsible research and innovation initiatives.

The Person

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Experience in computational and experimental synthetic biology.
• Peer-reviewed publications.
• Lab experience in microbiology techniques.
• Familiarity with Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology, or Biotechnology.
• Proficiency in Java, Ruby, Python, or C/C++.
• Linux or OS X environment competence.
• Experience with version control systems like Git.

Desirable Attributes

• Bioinformatics, coding theory, cryptography, laboratory automation, biosecurity, DNA data storage, molecular computation skills.
• Experience presenting at scientific meetings.

Additional for Research Associates and Senior Research Associates

• Grant writing experience.
• Experience with social media for dissemination.

Attributes and Behaviour

• Effective communication skills.
• Original thinking, self-motivated.
• Team player, punctual, dependable, enthusiastic.
• Interdisciplinary interaction skills.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or related fields (Research Assistant).
• PhD in a relevant field or near completion (Research Associate/Senior Research Associate).

We are committed to diversity and inclusion, supporting equality, and fostering a welcoming environment. Newcastle University holds the Athena Swan Silver Award and Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, and is a Disability Confident employer. We support researchers through the Euraxess initiative.