Research Fellow /Research Assistant (Tomlinson lab)

We are seeking a highly motivated individual interested in integrating cutting-edge human and zebrafish models to study the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis. The post is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellowship entitled “Tuning the immune response in tuberculosis”, which combines transcriptomic profiling of human TB samples with the zebrafish larval Mycobacterium marinum infection model of TB. This project will test putative drivers of TB disease severity, identified from our human data, in the zebrafish larval mycobacterial infection model. The project involves a wide range of methodologies including CRISPR genome editing, in vivo imaging of host pathogen interactions in zebrafish, and molecular and systems level assessments of in vivo immune responses to mycobacterial infection using RNAseq and computational bioinformatics.

The post-holder will be supervised by Dr Gillian Tomlinson based in the Cruciform Building at UCL. Dr Tomlinson works closely with Professor Mahdad Noursadeghi’s and Professor Benny Chain’s groups which study host immune responses to infectious diseases at genome wide level, with a particular focus on tuberculosis (www.ucl.ac.uk/innate2adaptive). The zebrafish work will be supported by the fully managed world class research aquarium at UCL.

There is an established track record for department post-doctoral staff gaining personal fellowships. Independently minded and talented investigators will be encouraged and supported in seeking such fellowship support.

Key requirements

Applicants must have an MSc (or equivalent degree) and/or a PhD (or equivalent degree) in a relevant subject.

Candidates must be competent in molecular and cellular biology techniques including RNA and DNA extraction, qPCR, PCR, cloning and tissue culture.

Evidence of significant scientific contribution including publications and presentations at conferences is also essential.

Previous experience of zebrafish work is highly desirable.