Research Assistant

A Wellcome-funded Research Assistant post to provide technical support in an enthusiastic, well-established lab analysing the fundamental mechanisms of microtubule organisation and intracellular transport.

The post holder will be a member of the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology and Warwick Medical School, benefitting from an outstanding scientific environment and access to state-of-the-art research facilities.

The main responsibility of the post holder will be the purification of recombinant human proteins expressed in insect or mammalian cells for biochemical assays, quantitative data analysis and general laboratory support.

Candidates are expected to have either a university degree in a relevant subject area (natural sciences, biochemistry, biophysics etc.), vocational training as a laboratory technician or equivalent research experience.

Applicants should have a track record in protein engineering, expression, purification and characterisation using biophysical and biochemical experiments, as well as in more generic laboratory support and management, including re-ordering and stock control. Excellent proven manual skills and excellent proven record keeping skills and communication skills, including presentation skills are all essential.

You will join the laboratory of Professor Anne Straube in the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology. The Straube lab aims to understand how microtubule arrays are organised and control the morphology of cells. In particular, the lab uses live cell imaging, force measurements, quantitative image analysis tools and in vitro reconstitution experiments to understand the function of motor proteins in organising microtubules and transporting cargo.

The Centre of Mechanochemical Cell Biology at the University of Warwick seeks to understand the principles of cellular self-organisation with a focus on mechanisms that enable cell duplication, movement and repair. The centre is home to 20 principal investigators with backgrounds in cell biology, computer science and physics, housed in the purpose-built Mechanochemical Cell Biology building with state-of-the-art imaging facilities.

The post holder will also join Warwick Biomedical Sciences (BMS), which has a mission to advance world-class discovery science with an interdisciplinary approach to unravel the fundamental mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes, develop pioneering diagnostic and preventive technologies, and deliver ground-breaking treatments.

Note: Applicants who have previously applied for this role within the last six months and were unsuccessful will not be considered.

Benefits include an attractive pension scheme, a generous holiday allowance plus Christmas closure, excellent learning and development opportunities, savings on a wide range of products and services, generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, onsite childcare facilities, and access to flexible working. The University is a Living Wage employer.