Laboratory Research Scientist

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, London

Contract: 2 yr fixed term contract, full-time

Salary: From £35,470 with benefits, dependent on skills and experience

About us…  

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions. 

To learn more about the Crick, click here.

About the role…  

We are looking for an enthusiastic and meticulous research assistant, who will assist in a large-scale neuronal inactivation screen. This will include cutting-edge genetic tools to manipulate the activity of individual neurons across the brain. The project involves working closely with a PhD student to cross hundreds of fly stocks and test the behavioural effects using custom-built recording devices. The successful candidate will learn to use and troubleshoot Raspberry Pi-based behavioural rigs and become familiar with command line. Technical skills can be learned in the position, but past research experience doing hands-on experiments is essential. There will be the opportunity to learn python programming if desired.  

For a proactive candidate, there would also be the opportunity to lead an independent research project, including long-term projects with strategic direction from the Group Leader. These projects could methodologically involve behavioural experiments, generating and proofreading connectomics datasets, scRNA-seq, and/or computational analysis.  

What you will be doing…  

As an LRS at the Crick, you will be:  

• Assisting in a large-scale neuronal inactivation screen 
• Extensive fly work, including collecting virgin flies, setting up crosses, and building stocks 
• Follow-up behavioural experiments based on hits from the screen 
• Assisting in other tasks in the lab, which could involve immunofluorescence staining, confocal imaging, connectomics reconstruction, etc.  

About you…  

The essential criteria you will bring… 

• Degree in a relevant discipline, such as neuroscience, biosciences, or equivalent experience
• Experience with fruit flies and stock maintenance
• Previous background doing experiments
• Meticulous attention to experimental detail
• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team
• Ability to communicate and present data

To see the complete job description, click here.  

To see more about Group Leader here. 

About Working at the Crick… 

Our values  

• We are bold. We make space for creative, dynamic and imaginative ideas and approaches. We’re not afraid to do things differently. 
• We are open. We’re highly collaborative and interactive, and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world. 
• We are collegial. We show respect for one another, work cooperatively and support the wider community. 

At the Crick we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery.

We are a Disability Confident employer. Please contact nicola.gyte@crick.ac.uk for assistance.

Read more about our EDI approach here.   

What will you receive?  

We value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development. You can find out more here.

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