Research Fellow in Bioprocessing of Cellular Immunotherapies

Duties and Responsibilities

We are recruiting a proactive, collaborative and highly motivated Research Fellow to join the Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocessing Group at UCL and lead research in Bioprocessing of Cellular Immunotherapies. The successful candidate will be lead postdoctoral researcher as part of FAST CAR-T project.

The aim of the FAST CAR-T project is to establish a scalable manufacturing process for allogeneic gene-modified cellular and demonstrate consistent, multi-litre scale production for cellular immunotherapies with the goal of improving the production process and increase the quantity and quality of cell manufacture.

The Research Fellow, under the supervision of Professor Qasim Rafiq, will lead the upstream processing and biomanufacture of allogeneic cellular immunotherapies. The primary role of the Research Fellow will be to execute and lead experimental studies investigating the scale-up and production of allogeneic gene-modified cellular immunotherapies (e.g. allo CAR-T).

In addition to leading their own research plan, the role will provide significant management and industrial engagement opportunities. The Research Fellow will support the management of the CGTB Group, including support of the doctoral students and liaising with external partners.

Key requirements

To succeed in this role you will have:

• A PhD awarded (or about to be) in a relevant subject. This may include biological sciences, cell biology or immunology disciplines, biotechnology or biochemical engineering with relevance to cell culture, bioprocessing and analytics.
• Training and experience in working in cell process development including the use of bioreactors.
• Experience with cell characterisation assays including flow cytometry, ELISA, qPCR and other relevant assays for cellular immunotherapies.

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Professor Qasim Rafiq

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 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 Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

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. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion

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