Research Technician

The Bristol Medical School has a vacancy for a Research Technician working in the South West Dementia Brain Bank (SWDBB) at Southmead Hospital. We are seeking an additional staff member to underpin our long-term sustainability as a vital enabler of the work of researchers within the national and international dementia research community. The SWDBB is a research resource of post-mortem brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. It opened for the receipt brain donations for dementia research in 1984 and became one of the recruitment centres and member brain banks in the ABBUK-funded Brains for Dementia Research Network project in 2010.

You will work as part of a team providing histology support to our other brain bank technicians and aiding in the preparation of human brain tissue to be distributed for dementia research. Alongside an existing staff member, you will also be involved in the retrospective labelling of samples held within the SWDBB using our dedicated sample tracking system. As part of the wider team, you will assist the brain bank manager with administrative support helping with cohort newsletter mailouts or corresponding with participants and their representatives using standard templates. You will carry out routine ordering, record keeping, filing, photocopying and data entry to ensure accurate records are maintained. You will check information against source data and report any anomalies. You will receive routine enquiries from potential brain donors and their families by telephone, escalating requests to the appropriate person to respond. You will assist the brain bank manager with the maintenance of the potential donor register by sending our donor consent packs, registering new potential donors using established processes and corresponding with associated stakeholders. Typical duties will be derived from established processes and would include:

Entering sample data onto the laboratory sample tracking system, RFTrackIT and retrospectively labelling of brain tissue samples following a standard protocol.

• Assisting in the processing of human brain tissue for diagnostic purposes and in order to meet approved tissue requests.
• Performing routine immunohistochemistry and other histological stains.
• Assisting the brain bank manager with general administration tasks typically using standard formats or templates.
• Carrying out routine record keeping, filing, photocopying and data entry to ensure accurate records are maintained.
• Liaising with appropriate members of the SWDBB team before making key decisions.

You should apply if you have excellent organisation skills, with the ability to follow procedures in an accurate and timely manner. You will be able to work semi-autonomously within the context of a strong core team and to make decisions within set parameters and have proven experience of completing tasks to high levels of accuracy, with attention to detail and a methodical approach to work. You will have a good understanding of the basic principles of scientific research and laboratory practice.

For informal queries, please contact: Dr Laura Palmer; 0117 4147821 laura.e.palmer@bristol.ac.uk

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