Research Associate

We are seeking to appoint an experienced Research Associate to make a leading contribution to our project.

This is an opportunity for a highly motivated Research Associate to conduct basic research with potential for pre-clinical translation.

The candidate will be responsible for defining the neurobiology of the M5-receptor in the reward pathway and the efficacy of M5-receptor ligands in regulating drug-seeking using pre-clinical models of addiction. By combining this with mapping of the neuroanatomy of M5-receptor in the brain we will validate the M5-receptor as a novel target for the treatment of addiction.

The candidate will be based at University of Glasgow in state-of-the-art laboratories located in the newly built Advanced Research Centre (ARC) in the heart of the University campus and have the opportunity to spend time in our collaborator’s lab in Nashville, Tennessee.

This post, funded by the Wellcome Trust is to investigate mechanisms that can prevent opioid misuse and opioid-use-disorder and hence have a major impact on the global opioid crisis. In exciting breakthrough studies, we have discovered that inhibition of the M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M5-receptor) can prevent opioid drug seeking and reduce cue-induced relapse. The implications of our findings are huge. They indicate that by co-administration of a drug that inhibits the M5-receptor with opioid analgesics we can reduce the likelihood of patients becoming addicted to opioids and for those patients in remission from opioid addiction we can reduce the likelihood of relapse.

This project will work in close collaboration with leading in vivo pharmacologist Professor Carrie Jones, Vanderbilt University, Nashville USA, to understand fundamental aspects of M5-receptor biology and optimise ligands that can modulate M5-receptor activity to reduce the risk of opioid-addiction whilst retaining the drug’s analgesic properties. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, you will generate novel genetically engineered mice that will be used in combination with unique tool ligands in conjunction with anatomical, behavioural and molecular biology-based studies to explore how M5-receptors regulate reward-seek pathways associated with drug-addiction and validate the potential of this G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) as a therapeutic target.

Informal enquiries should be directed to  Professor Andrew Tobin, Andrew.Tobin@glasgow.ac.uk

This post is full-time and has funding until 30^th September 2029.

To apply online at: www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/research-associate-18?source=gla.ac.uk

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

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