Research Associate: In Vitro Neuro-Immune Models

Diversity Dashboard; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 39,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Hybrid working

Generous pension scheme

Staff networks

Job summary

University of Sheffield invites applications for a Research Associate in Host Compatibility and In Vitro Biological Models within the School of Clinical Dentistry. You will develop and test fungal materials in neural, glial and barrier models, contributing to assay development, data analysis and project reporting.

You will work across bioengineering, microbiology, neuroscience and translational neurotechnology, with a focus on host compatibility and inflammatory responses, maintaining rigorous

Qualifications

• PhD, or equivalent experience, in neuroscience, cell biology, immunology, tissue engineering, biomedical science, bioengineering, neurobiology, microbiology or a related discipline
• Proven ability in research and evidence of research output
• Practical experience in mammalian cell culture, primary cell culture, iPSC-derived cell systems, organoids, co-culture systems or related in vitro biological models
• Experience with cell viability, toxicity, immunostaining, microscopy, cytokine or inflammatory readouts
• Ability to design, run and analyse quantitative biological assays with appropriate controls
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information clearly
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team
• Experience with neural, glial, microglial, immune, BBB/endothelial, organoid, ex vivo tissue or infection/host-response models
• Experience with fungal or microbial exposure assays, live-cell imaging, calcium imaging, electrophysiology-adjacent assays or in vivo/ex vivo biological systems

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain neural, glial, immune and/or BBB-relevant in vitro models for testing candidate fungal materials
• Develop fungal exposure assays using parental, surrogate, engineered, live, arrested and non-viable fungal states
• Measure host compatibility using viability, toxicity, inflammatory, morphological and functional readouts in vitro and in vivo
• Assess microglial activation, astrocyte response, cytokine/chemokine production and immune-cell clearance where appropriate
• Test conditioned media or fungal secreted-factor effects on neural, glial, immune and barrier-relevant cells
• Support traumatic versus less-traumatic exposure comparisons in cell or tissue models
• Support BBB/endothelial and vascular safety assays where relevant to the candidate progression pipeline
• Carry out immunostaining, fluorescence/confocal microscopy, image analysis and quantitative data analysis
• Coordinate with fungal engineering and bioelectronic interface teams to test candidate materials consistently
• Assist with relevant research alongside project members to achieve the milestones and deliverables established in the project plan
• Design, conduct, analyse and document experiments within your area of expertise
• Maintain detailed, accurate and timely records of experimental procedures, results, data analyses and decisions
• Work independently and alongside project partners to meet project objectives
• Coordinate candidate testing across safety, control and function with other work packages
• Contribute to candidate down selection, milestone evidence packs and progress reporting
• Maintain equipment, software and supplies required for the project work
• Follow mandatory Health and Safety policies and procedures, including COSHH, biosafety
• Liaise with the academic principal investigator and other academic co-investigators, collaborators and technical staff
• Carry out strategic planning over the duration of the project in conjunction with other project members
• Read academic papers, journals, books and professional literature to understand the context of the project within the wider literature
• Disseminate research findings to project staff and other stakeholders, including written project reports, presentations at project meetings and contributions to reports, manuscripts or future funding applications
• As a member of staff, you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Skills

PhD or equivalent experience

Research output

Mammalian cell culture

In vitro biological models

Quantitative assays

Communication skills

Independent and collaborative work

Neural/glial/immune models

Fungal or microbial exposure assays

Education

PhD or equivalent in neuroscience/cell biology/immunology/tissue engineering/biomedical science/bioengineering/neurobiology/microbiology or related

Job description

University of Sheffield invites applications for a Research Associate in Host Compatibility and In Vitro Biological Models within the School of Clinical Dentistry. You will develop and test fungal materials in neural, glial and barrier models, contributing to assay development, data analysis and project reporting.

You will work across bioengineering, microbiology, neuroscience and translational neurotechnology, with a focus on host compatibility and inflammatory responses, maintaining rigorous