Research Assistant in Molecular Biology

About us

The UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) is at the heart of UCL’s Grand Challenge of Global Health. The Institute’s vision is for a world where international policy on global health is informed by world-class research.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Assistant with a particular interest in Molecular Biology to join our research team. The project will be in close collaboration with Prof. Timothy McHugh, Head of the UCL Centre for Clinical Microbiology, at the Royal Free Hospital Campus. The project aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of treatment response using a series of in-vitro microbiology/pharmacology experiments alongside ongoing clinical studies evaluating anti-mycobaterial drugs.

About the role

The Research Assistant in Molecular Biology will be expected to carry out RNA extractions from Mycobacerium tuberculosis and human blood samples and quantify gene expression.

The post holder will be responsible for a range of tasks, from reviewing relevant literature and contributing to the development of the experimental and analyses plans to analysing the data becoming available from experimental work.

The post holder will be expected to support and gradually take responsibility of conducting MIC, static kill-curve experiments and Hollow-fibre experiments in containment level 3 laboratories.

This is an on-site position, and the post holder will be based at the Royal Free Hospital Campus.

This post is available immediately for 12 months in the first instance.

Salary range: £37,332 to £39,980 per annum (including London Allowance), depending on experience. A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

About you

The candidate must have excellent communication, organisational and time-management skills and demonstrate a strong teamwork ethic, while also being able to work on their own initiative.

This role is a great opportunity for someone with:

• Working experience in containment level 3 laboratories
• Practical experience with conducting MIC and static kill-curve experiments
• Experience of conducting literature reviews, preparing reports and presentations
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
• Excellent organisational skills with careful and systematic approach to tasks

What we offer

• 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

For further information, please see our careers page

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 department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

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