Research Associate in Lung Tissue Imaging

Cardiff University; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

45 days annual leave

Cycle to work scheme

Local pension scheme

Job summary

Cardiff University invites applications for a Grade 6 Postdoctoral Researcher to join Dr Renata Jurkowska's team in the School of Biosciences. The project focuses on lung tissue imaging using advanced multiphoton microscopy techniques to explore mucus mechanics and airway remodelling.

You will develop models, acquire data, and contribute to publications in a collaborative setting. Applicants should have experience in tissue imaging, quantitative image analysis, and cell-based models, with strong

Qualifications

• Experience in preparing, imaging and analysing mammalian tissues using microscopic methods and quantitative image analysis platforms.
• Experience in using tissue or/and cell-based models in 2D or 3D.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and team-working skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop microscope hardware and software for imaging.
• Develop lung tissue and primary cell-based models for imaging.
• Support data acquisition, analysis and scientific interpretation.
• Engage in scientific publication and dissemination of results.

Skills

Mammalian tissue imaging

Quantitative image analysis

2D/3D tissue models

Communication and team-work

Tools

Four-wave mixing imaging

Coherent Raman scattering

Second-harmonic generation

Third-harmonic generation

Two-photon fluorescence

Job description

Job Advert

Research Associate (Postdoctoral Researcher) in Lung Tissue Imaging

School of Biosciences

We are looking for a Grade 6 Postdoctoral Researcher to join the team of Dr Renata Jurkowska, School of Biosciences. The role will focus on understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms that maintain healthy lung tissue and how these processes become disrupted in chronic lung diseases.

You will join an interdisciplinary project funded by the Wellcome Trust Discovery Award, aimed at developing a transformative multiphoton microscopy technology for applications in mucosal tissue mechanobiology. Mucosal surfaces are the main interface between the environment and our organism. In the lung, mucus provides a barrier that entraps foreign pathogens and particles and is moved into the oesophagus by coordinated ciliary beating of epithelial cells. Mucus viscoelasticity is crucial to this movement, and poor mucociliary clearance contributes to the development of chronic lung diseases, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The new technology developed in this project will measure mucus viscoelasticity by tracking the trajectories of individual nano-probes with unprecedented nanoscale precision. It will map the 3D structure and composition of living lung tissues with subcellular resolution and molecular chemical specificity. The technology will be applied to healthy and diseased lung tissues and cellular models, in response to inflammatory triggers, infections and drugs. This research will unlock new insights into how mucus mechanics interconnects to regulatory pathways underlying airway remodelling and fibrosis, key features of chronic lung diseases, which are a massive unmet medical need.

You will work alongside biophysicists who will develop microscope hardware and software. The microscope will implement four-wave mixing imaging and tracking, coherent Raman scattering, second-harmonic generation, third-harmonic generation and two-photon fluorescence, all integrated in one instrument.

You will develop lung tissue and primary cell-based models for imaging and investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving airway remodelling and deficient mucociliary clearance. You will support data acquisition, analysis and scientific interpretation. You will engage in scientific publication and dissemination of the results.

We’d like to hear from you if you:

• Have experience in preparing, imaging and analysing mammalian tissues using microscopic methods and quantitative image analysis platforms.


• Have experience in using tissue or/and cell-based models in 2D or 3D


• Possess excellent written and verbal communication and team-working skills.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and can be directed, in the first instance, to [e-mail].

The position is full-time available from 1st August 2026 and is fixed term until 31st July 2029.
Salary: £41,064 - £46,049 per annum (Grade 6).
Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 45 days annual leave (incl. bank holidays), local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments within the pay scale, and more. It's an exciting and vibrant place to work with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter. You will be based at Cardiff University and will work together with our project collaborators at the University of Cambridge.

Date advert posted: Tuesday, 18 August 2026

Closing date: Friday, 4 September 2026

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We especially welcome and encourage applications from those under-represented groups within the University workforce, such as those who identify as LGBT+, Ethnic Minority or those with disabilities. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: Responsible research assessment - Research - Cardiff University
Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Hysbyseb Swydd

Cynorthwyydd Ymchwil mewn Delweddu Meinwe'r Ysgyfaint

Ysgol y Biowyddorau

Rydyn ni’n awyddus i benodi Cydw ...

Byddwch yn ymuno â phrosiect rhyngddisgyblaethol a ariennir gan Wobr Darganfod Ymddiriedolaeth Wellcome. Ei nod yw datblygu technoleg microsgopeg amlffoton drawsnewidiol ar gyfer cymwysiadau mewn mecanofioleg meinwe mwcosaidd. Arwynebau mwcosaidd yw'r prif ryngwyneb rhwng yr amgylchedd a'n horganeb. Yn yr ysgyfaint, mae mwcws yn darparu rhwystr sy'n dal pathogenau a gronynnau estron ac yn cael ei symud i'r oesoffagws drwy guriad siliaidd cydlynol celloedd epithelaidd. Mae gludedd elastigedd mwcws yn hanfodol i'r symudiad hwn, ac mae clirio mwcosaidd gwael yn cyfrannu at ddatblygu clefydau cronig yr ysgyfaint, fel asthma neu glefyd rhwystrol cronig yr ysgyfaint (COPD).

Bydd y dechnoleg newydd a ddatblygwyd yn y prosiect hwn yn mesur gludedd elastigedd mwcws drwy olrhain llwybrau nano-chwiliedyddion unigol gyda chywirdeb nanosgâl digynsail. Bydd yn mapio strwythur a chyfansoddiad 3D meinweoedd ysgyfaint byw gyda manylder isgellog a phenodoldeb cemegol moleciwlaidd. Bydd y dechnoleg yn cael ei chymhwyso i feinweoedd ysgyfaint iach ac afiach a modelau cellog, mewn ymateb i sbardunau llidiol, heintiau a chyffuriau. Bydd y gwaith ymchwil hwn yn datgloi dealltwriaeth newydd o sut mae mecaneg mwcws yn cysylltu â llwybrau rheoleiddio sy'n sail i ailfodelu'r llwybr anadlu a ffibrosis, nodweddion allweddol clefydau cronig yr ysgyfaint, sy'n angen meddygol enfawr heb ei ddiwallu.

Byddwch yn cydweithio â bioffisegwyr a fydd yn datblygu caledwedd a meddalwedd microsgop. Bydd y microsgop yn rhoi nodwedd delweddu ac olrhain cymysgu pedair ton ar waith, yn ogystal â gwasgariad Raman cydlynol, cynhyrchu ail harmonig, cynhyrchu trydydd harmonig a fflwroleuedd dau ffoton, a bydd y cyfan wedi'u hintegreiddio mewn un offeryn.

Byddwch yn datblygu modelau sy'n seiliedig ar feinwe'r ysgyfaint a chelloedd cynradd ar gyfer delweddu. Ar ben hynny, byddwch yn ymchwilio i'r mecanweithiau moleciwlaidd a chellog sy'n cyrru’r gwaith o ailfodelu'r llwybr anadlu a chlirio mwcosaidd diffygiol. Byddwch yn cynorthwyo prosesau caffael data, dadansoddi a dehongli gwyddonol. Byddwch yn chwarae rhan mewn cyhoeddi a lledaenu canlyniadau gwyddonol.

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