View Vacancy -- MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist LMS 2106 - Roles of different cohesin complexes in controlling development and fertility

Open Date
15/03/2023, 11:00
Close Date
10/04/2023, 23:55
MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences

The London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a Medical Research Council funded research institute at the Hammersmith Hospital campus (London W12) of Imperial College London, with around 400 biomedical researchers undertaking multidisciplinary and internationally-competitive science.

For more information, visit www.lms.mrc.ac.uk.

UK Research and Innovation is a new entity that brings together nine partners to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, more information can be found at www.ukri.org

MRC - 4
London
£35,143 plus London Allowances (£3,727 - £1,402) per annum
Additional allowances comprise a £1,000 lump sum Settlement Allowance plus a yearly Training Allowance of £850 in the first year, paid in monthly instalments. The Training Allowance increases to £1,300 in year two
Fixed Term
Science
Full Time
2 Years

Overall purpose:

We are looking for a talented and self-motivated computational or wet lab scientist to work on a collaborative project between the Meiosis group (headed by Enrique Martinez-Perez) and the Developmental Epigenomics group (headed by Juanma Vaquerizas) at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS) at Imperial College London. The successful candidate will work within the two research groups to elucidate how different cohesin complexes regulate chromosome structure to ensure normal development and fertility in the nematode C. elegans. For more detailed information about the work of both groups, please visit: https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/research-group/meiosis/ and https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/research-group/developmental-epigenomics/.

The ideal candidate will have a background in 3D genome organization, regulation of transcription, or related fields, and prior experience in computational analysis of high-throughput genetic analysis techniques, such as Hi-C, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq. The position is available to be filled immediately, but start date can be flexible.

Main duties / key responsibilities:

  • To plan and carry out research in accordance with the project aims
  • To attend project and related research group meetings
  • To interact and collaborate with group members
  • Write-up and publication of work in peer-reviewed journals
  • To take an active part in the academic activities of the LMS
  • To attend and contribute to journal clubs and seminar presentations
  • Presentation of data at national and international meetings
  • To form good working relationships with other members of the group as well as internal and external collaborators
  • To assist others and co-supervise students when required

Education / Qualifications / Training required (will be assessed from application form):

Essential:

  • PhD (or equivalent) in an area of the Life Sciences
  • A first author paper (published or submitted)
  • Experience with computational analysis of genomic data sets

Desirable:

  • Wet lab experience

Previous work experience required (will be assessed from application form and at interview):

Essential:

  • Extensive experience in computational analyses of NGS-based datasets and data integration
  • Evidence that the candidate can plan and carry on a research project

 Desirable:

  • Experience with basic molecular biology experimental approaches

Knowledge and experience (will be assessed from application form and at interview):

Essential:

  • Excellent programming skills in languages such as R or Python
  • Previous experience using high-performance computational environments and the UNIX command line
  • Proven proficiency in employing quantitative methods for data analysis
  • Excellent written communication skills
  • A strong interest in genome organisation and function

Desirable:

  • Strong publication record and exposure to scientific meetings

Personal skills/behaviours/qualities (will be assessed at the interview):

Essential:

  • Ability to conduct reproducible research
  • Ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature
  • Ability to develop and apply new concepts
  • Creative approach to problem-solving
  • Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide range of people
  • Ability to direct the work of a small research team and motivate others to produce a high standard of work
  • Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision
  • Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines
  • Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative
  • Flexible attitude towards work
  • Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times
  • Willingness to work out of normal working hours if the requirements of the project demand
  • Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role

This role qualifies for endorsement by UKRI for a UK Global Talent Visa, for which the successful applicant is likely to be eligible to apply. Immigration costs for applicant (100% visa and 100% Health Surcharge) and immediate dependents (100% visa and 50% health surcharge when applying with main applicant) can be reclaimed from LMS after taking up the post (terms and conditions apply).

For full details of this post and to complete an online application upload your CV, names and contacts of two scientific references along with a covering letter stating why you are applying for this role (providing evidence against the requirements of the job as per the job description and person specification). Please quote reference number LMS 2106


The MRC is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions.The MRC is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the MRC name brings. The MRC is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.

Choosing to come to work at the MRC (part of UKRI) means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement to access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme, as well as the chance to put the MRC and UKRI on your CV in the future.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We welcome applications from all sections of the community irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. As "Disability Confident" employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider whether this conflicts with your personal values or beliefs.

We will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as an essential part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.  The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

This opportunity is closed to applications.