Ref Number B02-07896 Professional Expertise Research and Research Support Department School of Life & Medical Sciences (B02) Location London Working Pattern Full time Salary See advert text Contract Type Permanent Working Type Hybrid Available for Secondment No Closing Date 15-Nov-2024
About Us
The Enver lab has a long-standing interest in stem cell biology, the regulation of cell fate decisions and the disruption of normal developmental processes in the evolution of cancer. In particular we study the initiation and progression of childhood leukaemia with a view to understanding how cancer-initiating mutations make cells susceptible to tumour-promoting events such as additional mutations or environmental/epigenetic factors, facilitating the identification of novel vulnerabilities, targetable earlier in disease, with less toxic strategies.
The Enver lab is part of the UCL Cancer Institute, a hub for cancer research at University College London (UCL), one of the world's leading universities (www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer). The Institute draws together over 400 talented scientists who are working together to translate research discoveries into better, more effective treatments to improve outcomes for cancer patients. It fosters links between basic cancer researchers across biomedicine and the clinical activities with our associated hospital Trusts, including UCL Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. Embedded within the UCL Cancer Institute, the CRUK City of London Centre provides essential infrastructure to underpin cancer research within UCL and is a major catalyst in the success of UCL in integrating translational and clinical cancer research with excellent basic science.
Further Information about the UCL Cancer Institute can be found on our website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer/
About The Role
We are looking for a talented post-doctoral research associate to join the laboratory of Prof Tariq Enver to work on an exciting project to study the interface between tumour initiation and progression in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL). Specifically, this project takes advantage of our lab’s in vitro induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) system which recapitulates foetal haematopoiesis (10.1016/j.devcel.2017.12.005, 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100420), offering a unique opportunity to study the origins of this disease which initiates in utero.
Children with Down’s Syndrome (DS) have an elevated risk of developing BCP-ALL meaning that trisomy 21 functions as a “first-hit” mutation. Existing isogenic pairs of IPSC lines di-/tri-somic for chromosome 21 provide a controlled system in which to study the impact of chromosome 21 dosage on leukaemia initiation and progression. The mutations associated with disease progression are well described and include activating mutations in the JAK-STAT pathway and loss-of-function mutations in regulators of B-cell development, and tumour suppressors. In this project we will use genetic engineering to generate a series of IPSC lines carrying different combinations of trisomy 21 and additional mutations and assess the impact on B-cell development in vitro using state of the art single cell approaches. Using genetic and/or pharmacological manipulations we will further dissect the interaction between chromosome 21 dosage and secondary mutations in leukaemia initiation and maintenance.
The successful applicant will benefit from the use of outstanding technical facilities to perform flow cytometry and single cell functional genomics. You will work in a laboratory which combines cell biology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to address fundamental questions of disease progression with translational relevance.
Experience in cell culture and molecular biology is required and familiarity with IPSCs, genetic engineering, flow cytometry and bioinformatics is desired.
Applications should include a CV and a Cover Letter: In the Cover Letter please evidence the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the Job Description. (By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the 'Why you have applied for this role' field in the application form, which is limited in the number of characters it will allow.)
Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at research assistant Grade 6B (salary £37,332- £39,980 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission and award of the PhD thesis.
This Blood Cancer UK funded Grade 7 post is funded for 3 years in the first instance.
About You
The post-holder will have a PhD in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related discipline (please see above for appointment details pre and post PhD submission).
The post-holder will also have experience with mammalian cell culture and genetic engineering of mammalian cell lines, as well as molecular biology.
Please see the job description for a full person specification for the role - this can be found at the bottom of the page
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-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.
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