Postdoctoral Researcher in Cell and Developmental Biology

The PDRA will be part of a team, from the Universities of Dundee, Oxford and University College London, aiming to advance our understanding of gastrulation, an early stage of morphogenesis, using the chick embryo as a model system. This will be a highly collaborative project, which will involve a combination of in-vitro and in-vivo experiments, and cell-scale and tissue-scale modelling.

A key aim of the research is to Characterise and understand the interplay between cell and tissue-scale mechanical forces, cell differentiation, and cell behaviours during gastrulation.

The Dundee PDRA will be primarily responsible for the characterisation and quantification of in-vivo critical cell behaviours that drive tissue flows and deformations during gastrulation. They will be visualised and characterised at the scale of the embryo using a custom-built dedicated lightsheet microscope making extensive use of novel transgenic chick lines, using local and global chemical and physical perturbations. Data will be analysed using an extensive computational data analysis pipeline. These in-vivo experiments will interface directly with in-vitro biophysical experiments on tissue isolates carried out in UCL and will form input for biophysical modelling in Dundee and Oxford.

Your priorities will include:

• Perform live imaging of gastrulation in chick embryos after chemical and physical perturbation.
• Perform large scale computational image processing and data analysis to quantify cell and tissue behaviours.
• Prepare and present data at laboratory and project meetings.
• Transfer and exchange expertise with other experimental and theory members of the team.
• Prepare data and content for manuscripts.

Who we’re looking for:

• A highly motivated researcher with a keen interest and experience in theory and methods of molecular cell and developmental biology and interest/experience in experimental biophysics.
• Experience in advanced live imaging and image analysis, preferably lightsheet and/or multiphoton microscopy and computational data analysis will be highly advantageous.
• Experience in coding (MATLAB, C++) will be advantageous.
• Interest and ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant on the Grade 7 salary scale is dependent upon you having been awarded a PhD. An appointment may be considered if you are shortly expected to be awarded a PhD. In this case, the initial appointment would be made as a Research Assistant on the Training Grade 7 salary scale (Spinal Point 25 – 28).

The position is full-time, 3-year fixed-term from starting 1st April 2022.

We are one of the UK’s leading universities – internationally recognised for our expertise across a range of disciplines and research breakthroughs in multiple areas, including science, medicine and engineering, amongst many others. Conveniently located on the banks of River Tay, our main city-centre campus is at the heart of Dundee – an up-and-coming, friendly, compact and affordable city with a rich heritage in design and technology. Just a short walk from the V&A Museum of Design Dundee, we’re close to both the train and bus stations. We also have campuses at Ninewells Hospital and in Kirkcaldy which are easily accessible via local transport links.

For further information about this position please contact Cornelis J Weijer at c.j.weijer@dundee.ac.uk.

To find out more about Cell and Developmental Biology please visit https://www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/research/cdb.