Scientist - Applications Team (Pathogen)

Ellison Institute of Technology; Oxford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) in Oxford is seeking an experienced Scientist to join the Pathogen Applications Team. You will support microbiology, molecular biology, sample processing and sequencing activities, handling clinical and laboratory samples and generating high-quality, traceable data for research and development projects.

Ideal candidates have an undergraduate degree and practical laboratory experience in diagnostic or research environments, with hands-on skills in culture,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in microbiology, biomedical science, molecular biology, biological sciences, biotechnology or another relevant scientific discipline.

Responsibilities

• Receive, log, process and track clinical and laboratory samples, maintaining traceability.
• Perform routine laboratory processing of clinical and laboratory samples using established procedures.
• Perform microbiology workflows including culture preparation, plating, colony counting and culture enumeration.
• Perform molecular biology workflows including nucleic acid extraction, quantification and sample preparation for analysis.
• Perform QC on samples and assays, including microbiological and molecular QC.
• Support preparation of samples and libraries for sequencing and assist with sequencing runs.

Education

Bachelor's degree "Microbiology"

Job description

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we're on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity's greatest challenges in four transformative areas: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture Climate Change & Managing CO₂ Artificial Intelligence & Robotics. This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you'll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org .

Welcome to the Pathogen Project: Within this ecosystem, the Pathogen Mission exemplifies EIT's commitment to transformative science. It aims to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases by leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based metagenomic and pathogen-specific analytical tools. This remit includes the development of a decentralised, sample-to-answer sequencing diagnostic platform for infectious diseases, enabling rapid and accurate analysis of patient samples without prior assumptions. Supported by Oracle Inc.'s cloud-computing scale and security infrastructure, the Pathogen Mission is progressing towards certified diagnostic products for deployment in laboratories, hospitals, and public health organisations worldwide.

Your Role:

At EIT we are seeking an experienced and detailed orientated Scientist to join the Pathogen Applications Team and support microbiology, molecular biology, sample processing and sequencing activities. This is a hands-on laboratory role supporting the receipt, processing and tracking of clinical and laboratory samples; preparation of quantified microbial cultures; qPCR and sequencing workflows. You will work closely with scientists across the Pathogen Applications Team to generate high-quality, traceable samples and data for research and development projects. We are particularly interested in candidates who have developed strong practical laboratory skills in a diagnostic, clinical, industry, high-throughput or similarly structured laboratory environment. Previous experience as a Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA), Associate Practitioner, laboratory technician, research technician, or in a comparable industry laboratory role would be highly relevant. This role would suit an early-career scientist with a relevant undergraduate degree and practical laboratory experience who is looking to broaden their skills across microbiology, molecular biology and sequencing technologies within a fast-paced research and development environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Receive, log, process and track clinical and laboratory samples, maintaining accurate sample identification and traceability.
• Perform routine laboratory processing of clinical and laboratory samples using established procedures.
• Perform microbiology workflows as required, including culture preparation, plating, colony counting, culture enumeration, and preparation of isolates or cultures for downstream applications.
• Perform molecular biology workflows, including nucleic acid extraction, quantification and preparation of samples for downstream analysis.
• Perform routine sample and assay quality control, including microbiological and molecular QC.
• Perform qPCR assays and support the interpretation and documentation of routine QC results.
• Support the preparation of samples and libraries for sequencing.
• Assist with sequencing run set-up and routine sequencing operations following established protocols.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date laboratory records, sample tracking information and experimental documentation.
• Prepare reagents, media, buffers and other laboratory materials according to established procedures.
• Support inventory management, including stock checks, consumable management, reagent monitoring and ordering.
• Perform routine laboratory housekeeping, equipment checks, cleaning and maintenance activities.
• Work in accordance with laboratory health and safety requirements, SOPs, risk assessments and HTA requirements where applicable.
• Identify and **escalate** laboratory, sample, QC or sequencing issues to appropriate senior team members.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Pathogen Applications Team to support changing laboratory priorities and workflows.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Bachelor's degree in microbiology, biomedical science, molecular biology, biological sciences, biotechnology or another relevant scientific discipline.

Practical laboratory experience gained through employment in a diagnostic, clinical, industry, research, high-throughput or similar laboratory environment.

- Hands-on practical experience in microbiology and/or molecular biolog