Postdoctoral Fellow - Tybulewicz Lab

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Short summary

We seek a talented and motivated postdoc to join a Research Group led by Victor Tybulewicz at the Francis Crick Institute. The Group currently consists of 13 scientists, including 8 postdocs and 3 PhD students. One of the two main research interests of the Group is the study of the genetics underlying Down Syndrome. The Group has previously generated a series of mouse models of Down Syndrome that can be used to map the location of dosage-sensitive genes that cause Down Syndrome phenotypes, and have used them to study heart defects, locomotor deficits and craniofacial dysmorphology (1-4).

Key Responsibilities

The Project

The postdoc will study the genetics and developmental biology underlying congenital heart defects in Down Syndrome. The overall aim is to understand how increased dosage of genes on human chromosome 21 leads to heart defects. In previous work we showed that heart defects are caused by increased dosage of at least two genes (1), and more recently we have identified one of these causative genes as DYRK1A (4).

The aim of this project is to identify the second dosage-sensitive gene that causes heart defects when present in three copies and to elucidate the mechanism by which the two genes cause pathology. The work will involve use of genetic, developmental biology and biochemical techniques including microscopy, image analysis, and RNAseq, and will be supported by the excellent core facilities of the Institute. The work is funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Postdoctoral Training Fellows are expected to lead their own projects, contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis (both in the lab and with external collaborators) and may guide PhD students in their research. The ability to work in a team is essential.

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL, Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy.

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.

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