Research Fellow in Genomic Medicines Manufacturing

About us

This position is a key part of the Vaccines Manufacturing Hub for LMICs (VaxHub Global), led by UCL Biochemical Engineering and the University of Oxford with academic and industrial partners. VaxHub Global is funded with a £10M DHSC grant, as part of the UK Vaccine Network, a UK Aid programme to develop vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in LMICs, with co-funding from the EPSRC to leverage impact for the UK. The Hub will enhance future vaccine manufacturing through a focus on translational manufacture, including continuous improvement of existing vaccines, for ease, speed and lowering costs; simplified manufacturing and delivery solutions, while prioritising sustainable innovations; enhancing single-dose, multivalency, stability and injection-free administration routes so that they become a reality within the lifetime of the Hub; leveraging advances in microfluidics to build low-cost integrated engineering platforms for rapid production; championing training programmes supporting the creation and development of regional Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to realise the delocalised manufacturing model; and by developing policy initiatives and best practice sharing schemes intended to smooth the path for early phase trials of novel products in disease-affected countries.

About the role

The postholder will develop microscale platforms for genomic medicines manufacturing. The project focuses on the development of an automated multiproduct and agnostic sensor integrated continuous production platform, that allows the production of different mRNA modalities while maintaining consistent product quality.

There will be a high degree of interaction with UCL colleagues and industrial partners so excellent team-working and communication skills will be required. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking original experimental research, reporting on project progress and the preparation and submission of research papers arising from these and related studies.

About you

You will hold a PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g. Biochemical/Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology), or related disciplines, and ideally possess experience in one or more of the following areas: nucleic acid synthesis, vaccine process design, purification and formulation.

We want to give people opportunity for development and this role is one where we could consider a wide range of different skills and experiences . Whilst all candidates must meet the essential criteria in order to be shortlisted, we actively encourage candidates who may not meet all of the desirable criteria to apply as we consider these to be areas the successful candidate can grow within the role.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Marco Marques at marco.marques@ucl.ac.uk 

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-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.

Our department holds an Athena Swan Gold award in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

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

Customer advert reference: B04-05622

Advert information