Technician

An exciting opportunity exists for a Laboratory/Research Technician to analyse prostate cancer urine and tissue samples for the PUR and DESNT poor prognosis expression markers. You will be involved in the collection, processing, storage and analysis of patient’s samples for prostate cancer biomarker analysis under the supervision of Dr Jupp in our Diagnostics laboratory.

The PUR urine biomarker study is a validation study that is a continuation of our published PUR (Prostate Urine Risk) research (Connell et al., 2019 BJUInt) and is part of the ongoing process of making a clinically implementable test for prostate cancer which uses samples that can be provided by patients at home.

The DESNT tissue expression study is a continuation of our prostate cancer stratification using the DESNT poor prognosis biomarker (Luca et al., 2017, Eur Urol Focus). Not all prostate cancers are the same and subdividing cancer into better or poorer outcome cancers is key to personalised treatment pathways.

You will interlink with NHS staff at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital and other hospitals and organise the postage of At-Home urine collection kits to patients that may have prostate cancer. You will then catalogue and store the samples prior to processing them and extraction of cell-free RNA which will be analysed for prostate cancer biomarkers. RNA analysis will involve operation of specialised equipment and manipulation of the expression data output.

The role will link into other cancer-tissue expression studies within Cancer Genetics and with collaborating teams both inside and outside the UK for collection and processing of samples from other hospitals. There will be some interaction with patients by telephone.

The post will also involve collection of anonymised patient clinical information and you will develop an understanding of prostate cancer clinical data and how disease progresses.

The position will provide good experience in molecular biology and will continue the work built on our recently published research on the PUR and DESNT tests for aggressive prostate cancer. 

The post requires someone that is good at organising their time and has attention to detail. Skills in molecular biology techniques are desirable. Skills in Excel spreadsheets are essential. 

This full-time post is available on a fixed term basis for two years. 

Benefits include:

• 34 days annual leave inclusive of Bank Holidays and University Customary days.
• Family and Work-life balance policies including hybrid working and considerable maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and adoption leave.
• Generous pension scheme with life cover for dependants, plus incapacity cover.
• Health and Wellbeing: discounted access to Sportspark facilities, relaxation rooms, 320 acres of rolling parkland, wellbeing walks, Wellbeing Ambassador network, medical centre, Occupational Health and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Campus Facilities: Sportspark, library, nursery, supermarket, post office, bars and catering outlets.
• Exclusive shopping discounts to help cut the cost of household bills, childcare salary sacrifice scheme, Cycle to Work scheme and public transport discounts.
• Personal Development: unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning courses, specialist advice and training from our Organisational Development and Professional Learning Team.

Closing date:  16 September 2024

The University holds an Athena Swan Silver Institutional Award in recognition of our advancement towards gender equality.

For further information, including the Job Description and Person Specification, please see the attached Candidate Brochure.

For an informal discussion about the post please contact Jeremy Clark, Research Fellow via Jeremy.Clark@uea.ac.uk.