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Research Technician - Plant Science
UCL
London
On-site
GBP 35,000 - 39,000
Full time
8 days ago
Job summary
A prestigious research institution in London seeks a Researcher for a fixed term role to analyze plant protein abundance. The successful candidate will grow plants under controlled conditions and conduct data analysis, working closely with a multidisciplinary team. A BSc in relevant fields and experience with Arabidopsis are required. The role offers competitive benefits including generous vacation days and pensions.
Benefits
41 Days holiday
Defined benefit pension scheme
On-site gym
Qualifications
- Prior experience working with Arabidopsis in a research laboratory environment.
- Knowledge of DNA and RNA extraction.
- Motivated and organized team player.
Responsibilities
- Grow plants from multiple accessions in growth chambers under stress conditions.
- Carefully harvest tissues at developmental stages for DNA sequencing.
- Perform basic data analysis for quality control purposes.
Skills
Attention to detail
Team collaboration
Basic data analysis in R or Python
Education
BSc in plant sciences, life sciences or molecular biology
Job description
About us
The UCL Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment (GEE, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/gee ) is part of the Division of Biosciences and the Faculty of Life Sciences. GEE traces its origins to the Department of Comparative Anatomy founded in 1826 and incorporates previous Departments of Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology and the Galton Laboratory, the first Department of Genetics in the UK. GEE continues to be world-leading in the study of Evolutionary Biology, Human Genetics, Healthy Ageing and Biodiversity research, with over 40 research groups and some 200 Post-Docs, PhD Students and support staff.
The Division of Biosciences at UCL is one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences. We have an outstanding international reputation and a community of over 500 staff and more than 300 PhD students engaged in cutting edge research and collaboration.
Further information can be found on our website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences .
This is an exciting opportunity to join the group of Richard Mott within the UCL Genetics institute, We use statistical genetics and bioinformatics to understand the genetic and environmental drivers of complex traits in plants and animals ( https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/53101-richard-mott ).
About the role
The post is part of a long-standing, dynamic collaboration between UCL (Richard Mott), Rothamsted Research (Frederica Theodoulou) and University of Cambridge (Kathryn Lilley) to understand what causes protein abundance in plants, using the genetics and genomics of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model. You will work in a small, collaborative and innovative multidisciplinary team at UCL and Rothamsted who are committed to scientific excellence.
The main purpose of this position is to grow , plants from multiple accessions and in reproducible biological replicates, in growth chambers under stress conditions, carefully harvest tissues at defined developmental stages, and prepare tissue samples for DNA sequencing with long reads, RNAseq and proteomics. These data will be used to understand how the drivers of protein expression are modulated under environmental stress.
The postholder must be able to pay very careful attention to detail to ensure all plants (approx. 100, including replicates) are grown and harvested under the same defined conditions, and that tissues are harvested and prepared to avoid technical artefacts. The second purpose of the post is to perform basic data analysis for quality control purposes.
In this role, you would work very closely with a postdoctoral researcher (proteomics) based at Rothamsted Research, therefore, you must be able to travel to and work at both UCL (London main campus) and Rothamsted Research (Harpenden).
This is a fixed-term role from October 2025 until June 2026 and interviews are scheduled for August 2025. The post is funded by the UKRI-BBSRC. The salary will at Grade 6, within the annualised range £35,930-£38,607 and salary on appointment is subject to experience.
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.
This role does not meet the eligibility requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa certificate of sponsorship under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL will not be able to sponsor individuals who require right to work in the UK to carry out this role.
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have any queries about the role, please contact Richard Mott at r.mott@ucl.ac.uk If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the HR Administrator, quoting the advert reference in the subject line.
About you
You are a motivated, organized and dependable person who thrives in an interactive, friendly research team. You have a BSc degree or equivalent in either plant sciences, life sciences or molecular biology, or relevant subject area and prior experience working in with Arabidopsis in a research laboratory environment, genetics and plant molecular biology, ideally including DNA and RNA extraction.
The post requires basic data analysis skills in R or Python (e.g. plotting, regression, correlation and t-tests). You must also be able to work collaboratively as part of a team and communicate effectively.
What we offer
The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work - please see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-advice/ways-working to find out more.
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Our division holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
The UCL Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment (GEE, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/gee ) is part of the Division of Biosciences and the Faculty of Life Sciences. GEE traces its origins to the Department of Comparative Anatomy founded in 1826 and incorporates previous Departments of Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology and the Galton Laboratory, the first Department of Genetics in the UK. GEE continues to be world-leading in the study of Evolutionary Biology, Human Genetics, Healthy Ageing and Biodiversity research, with over 40 research groups and some 200 Post-Docs, PhD Students and support staff.
The Division of Biosciences at UCL is one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences. We have an outstanding international reputation and a community of over 500 staff and more than 300 PhD students engaged in cutting edge research and collaboration.
Further information can be found on our website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences .
This is an exciting opportunity to join the group of Richard Mott within the UCL Genetics institute, We use statistical genetics and bioinformatics to understand the genetic and environmental drivers of complex traits in plants and animals ( https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/53101-richard-mott ).
About the role
The post is part of a long-standing, dynamic collaboration between UCL (Richard Mott), Rothamsted Research (Frederica Theodoulou) and University of Cambridge (Kathryn Lilley) to understand what causes protein abundance in plants, using the genetics and genomics of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model. You will work in a small, collaborative and innovative multidisciplinary team at UCL and Rothamsted who are committed to scientific excellence.
The main purpose of this position is to grow , plants from multiple accessions and in reproducible biological replicates, in growth chambers under stress conditions, carefully harvest tissues at defined developmental stages, and prepare tissue samples for DNA sequencing with long reads, RNAseq and proteomics. These data will be used to understand how the drivers of protein expression are modulated under environmental stress.
The postholder must be able to pay very careful attention to detail to ensure all plants (approx. 100, including replicates) are grown and harvested under the same defined conditions, and that tissues are harvested and prepared to avoid technical artefacts. The second purpose of the post is to perform basic data analysis for quality control purposes.
In this role, you would work very closely with a postdoctoral researcher (proteomics) based at Rothamsted Research, therefore, you must be able to travel to and work at both UCL (London main campus) and Rothamsted Research (Harpenden).
This is a fixed-term role from October 2025 until June 2026 and interviews are scheduled for August 2025. The post is funded by the UKRI-BBSRC. The salary will at Grade 6, within the annualised range £35,930-£38,607 and salary on appointment is subject to experience.
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.
This role does not meet the eligibility requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa certificate of sponsorship under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL will not be able to sponsor individuals who require right to work in the UK to carry out this role.
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have any queries about the role, please contact Richard Mott at r.mott@ucl.ac.uk If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the HR Administrator, quoting the advert reference in the subject line.
About you
You are a motivated, organized and dependable person who thrives in an interactive, friendly research team. You have a BSc degree or equivalent in either plant sciences, life sciences or molecular biology, or relevant subject area and prior experience working in with Arabidopsis in a research laboratory environment, genetics and plant molecular biology, ideally including DNA and RNA extraction.
The post requires basic data analysis skills in R or Python (e.g. plotting, regression, correlation and t-tests). You must also be able to work collaboratively as part of a team and communicate effectively.
What we offer
The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work - please see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-advice/ways-working to find out more.
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Our division holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
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