View Vacancy -- Phenotyping Technician - MLC 1916

Open Date
03/08/2022, 10:47
Close Date
14/11/2022, 23:55
MRC Mary Lyon Centre

The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) https://www.har.mrc.ac.uk/ is located in an expanding science and innovation park in Oxfordshire and is an internationally renowned centre at the forefront of genetics research.  As the hub of the new National Mouse Genetics Network, the specialist facilities and capabilities of the MLC support a number of distinct research clusters spread across the UK to accelerate our understanding of human disease.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or in the support functions. The MRC encourages the integration of clinical and discovery research to elucidate both disease processes and potential new therapies. The MLC focuses on preclinical research using mouse models, which supports clinical research and therapy discovery. 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.

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 - 5
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire
£25,798 - £27,501 per annum (depending on experience)
Permanent
Technical & Scientific Professionals
Full Time

Overall Purpose: 

To work in the MLC team and provide high quality husbandry and experimental procedures to fulfil scientific needs. This includes working under Home Office licensing (Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act amended 2012) to carry out ethically justified procedures, and meticulous record keeping of all animal-related work. The post holder will carry out complex procedures such as intracranial injection, as well as in-vivo phenotyping assays, data collection and quality control. 

Main Duties/Key Responsibilities: 

  • Checking the health and welfare of experimental mouse stocks and addressing their welfare needs
  • Carry out in-vivo phenotyping assays (for example, taking blood samples, imaging under general anaesthesia and video recording in different environments)
  • Carry out surgical procedures (for example, intracranial injection and implantation of EEG transmitters)
  • Day-to-day husbandry, cage changing, daily checks and environmental monitoring when necessary
  • Collating, recording and uploading data into LIMS databases, spreadsheets and programs appropriate for data capture
  • Downloading, collating and performing critical quality-control analysis on phenotyping data.
  • Computerised record keeping
  • Reading and adhering to standard operating procedures and risk assessments

Working Relationships: 

Member of a team working under supervision of a Line Manager. Liaise with other teams including MLC maintenance, ward teams, necropsy and teams of researchers 

Additional Information: 

Must be able to work overtime to cover animal requirements

Equality & Diversity:

The MRC values the diverse skills and experience of its employees and is committed to achieving equality of treatment for all.  Our objectives are that all individuals shall have equal opportunities for employment and advancement on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities.  The MRC is committed to the engagement and retention of the best possible talent and to creating an environment that encourages excellence in scientific research through good equality and diversity leadership and management. 

Corporate/Local Responsibilities & Requirements:

The post holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the MRC’s:

  • Code of Conduct
  • Equality and Diversity policy
  • Health and Safety policy
  • Data Protection and Security policy 

Job descriptions should be reviewed on a regular basis and at the annual appraisal.  Any changes should be made and agreed between the post holder and their manager. 

The above lists are not exhaustive and the post holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post.  All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the MRC.

 

 

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

  • 5 GCSEs at grade C or above
  • Background in genetics or biology

Desirable:

  • Institute of Animal Technology level 2 Diploma in Laboratory Animal Science and Technology
  • Home Office license

Previous Work Experience Required:

Essential:

  • Experience of working in a laboratory environment, including working to SOPs and risk assessments

 Desirable:

  • Experience of surgery and/or anaesthesia induction and maintenance
  • Experience of working with laboratory animals
  • Experienced in assessing and treating health concerns in animals
  • Experienced in colony management of genetically altered mice

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

  • Genuine interest in the welfare of animals
  • Basic computer skills including the ability to use digital record keeping systems and common software packages (for example, Excel) 

Desirable:

  • Experience of handling datasets, visualising and checking for quality
  • Ability to train other members of staff

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential:

  • Excellent attention to detail
  • Ability to work as part of a team or autonomously when required
  • Self-motivated and positive influence on other team members
This is a rolling recruitment campaign and CV’s will be reviewed upon application.
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.