Research Assistant in Speckled Protein

Location: South Kensington campus

About the role:

We are looking for a Graduate Research Assistant  for 2½ years, to study proteins that sense and suppress infection by DNA viruses. You will use a combination of classical and cutting edge techniques in protein biochemistry, cell biology, classical virology, microscopy and genomics assays, particularly in the context of Epstein-Barr virus infection of B cells, and Herpes Simplex virus infection of primary fibroblasts.

What you would be doing:

In this role you will:

• Work as part of a small team studying how the SAND domain of speckled proteins (the Sp100 family) binds DNA, to test whether this allows cells to sense and suppress viral DNA in the nucleus.
• Assist with the day to-day planning, development, running and analysis of assays, including biochemistry (protein purification, DNA-binding assays, and antibody validation), infection assays (plaque assay, luciferase assays), and cell-based assays for protein interaction studies (e.g. FRET and fluorescence microscopy) and genomics assays (transcriptomics, ATAC-seq and ChIP), according to your skills and aptitudes.
• Present your findings to colleagues and contribute to the writing of reports
• Assist in the training and development of other staff and students in the research group.
• Contribute to the smooth running of the lab.

What we are looking for:

• Have a strong academic record at undergraduate and/or Master’s level in a relevant subject.
• Have a passion for virology, immunology, genomics or other fields relevant to this project.
• Be a quick learner who can readily adapt to new techniques.
• Be a precise and careful lab worker.
• Have a high degree of biological understanding and creativity, and/or research experience, that allow effective troubleshooting skills
• Be committed to this research project.
• Be able to support the research of junior (student) lab members.
• Have some research experience in molecular biology, cell biology or computational biology that is relevant to the project.

What we can offer you:

• An opportunity to develop a wide variety of research skills transferrable to diverse virology, immunology, biochemistry and cell biology lab contexts.
• Agency within the team in helping to drive the direction of the research.
• A collaborative departmental research environment with day-to-day contact with various world-leading virology research teams, on a science-intensive research-focussed campus with opportunities to diversify your scientific knowledge.
• Opportunity to present your research at a national or international conference.
• Paper authorship commensurate with your contribution to the research.
• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes).

Further Information

The position is a fixed term 30 month full-time-equivalent post anticipated to start in the first quarter of 2025, but additional flexibility will be considered for the right candidate.

If you require any further details on the role, please contact:

Dr Rob White (robert.e.white@imperial.ac.uk)

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