Research Technician

Location: Hammersmith Campus and South Kensington Campus 

Job Summary 

We are seeking applications for a Research Technician position in the Centre for Haematology, Department of Immunology and Inflammation at Imperial College London, supervised by Dr Richard Burt.

Dr Richard Burt is a Clinician-Scientist and Leukaemia Consultant whose laboratory focuses on understanding how the treatment resistant population in Precursor B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is different as compared to the bulk population that is killed by chemotherapy/immunotherapy (Burt et al, Blood 2019, Burt, Dey et al, BioRxiv 2023). We are especially interested in the role of the microenvironment in treatment resistance and how the metabolism of surviving leukaemia cells is altered compared to the bulk population that is killed. We work very closely with Professor Cristina Lo Celso’s lab, using her cutting edge intravital imaging platform (Hawkins et al Nature 2016, Duarte et al, Cell Stem Cell 2018), to study in live anaesthetised mice the interaction between leukaemia cells and cells in the microenvironment. 

Duties and responsibilities 

You will take on a project exploring mechanisms of resistance to Blinatumomab, a novel BiTE antibody that is used in the clinic to treat Precursor B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The antibody works by binding both leukaemia cells and cytotoxic T-cells, which activates the T-cells to induce leukaemia cell killing. Although this drug is highly efficient at inducing remission in patients, many patients relapse afterwards and you will figure out why! This will enable us to identify drugs to combine with blinatumomab in the clinic to prevent relapse of leukaemia.

You will use various laboratory techniques, including intravital imaging, multicolour flow analysis, RNASeq and metabolomics, to analyse both the structural, transcriptomic and metabolomic profile of treatment resistant leukaemia cells in the bone marrow. We use a mixture of cell lines and primary patient material for the work. There is the potential to develop the project into a PhD provided funding is secured. 

You will also be a key contact in the Burt laboratory, helping to coordinate the ongoing projects and training of students.

As part of your development, you will attend relevant workshops, local research seminars and lab meetings, and will develop contacts within the College and the wider community.

Essential requirements

You should have a BSc in Cell/Molecular Biology or related discipline. An MSc in this field is desirable, but not essential. Experience working in a research laboratory is essential. Possessing skills with cell culture, flow cytometry, in vivo models and/or imaging is desired, but training will be provided in any new techniques.

Further Information

This is a full-time, fixed term post until 30 September 2026 based onsite at the Hammersmith and South Kensington campuses.

Should you require any further details on the role please contact: r.burt@imperial.ac.uk

Closing date:30/07/2024

Apply online via the above ‘Apply’ button.

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