Postdoctoral Researcher

Transcription

1 Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Cardiovascular Sciences College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology Department of Cardiovascular Sciences Salary Grade 7-31,331 to 36,298 per annum Open ended subject to fixed term funding. Funding is currently available for 3 years Ref: MBP00842 Applications are invited for the post of Postdoctoral Research Associate to be based in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences. The position is available as part of a research project funded by the Fondation Leducq TransAtlantic Network of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Program to investigate novel coronary artery disease genes. The primary role of the post-holder will be to use genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells to create isogenic models for the investigation of disease genes. The successful candidate should have a PhD in biological sciences, excellent technical skills and an eagerness to develop and use innovative research models. The position is ideal for someone with either experience of human pluripotent stem cells and their differentiation or other relevant molecular biological techniques, who wants to participate in and contribute to advances in a highly exciting and medically important research area. The post-holder will be supervised by and report to Professor NJ Samani, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology and Head of Department. The University There s never been a more exciting time to join us. At the University of Leicester we are enjoying research success on a world stage and gathering the awards and plaudits to match. A judge in a recent awards ceremony described Leicester as elite without being elitist. We are proud to be elite. But we are at least as proud to be an inclusive and progressive university. This commitment to high quality, an inclusive academic culture and belief in the synergy of teaching and research are our hallmarks. We believe that teaching is inspirational when delivered by passionate scholars engaged in world-changing research that is delivered in an academic community that includes postgraduate as well as undergraduate students. Our approach to research yields great rewards. Our research impact, measured by citations per academic, is the sixth highest in the UK. Our success in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise saw Quality Related research income rise by 18% placing us firmly amongst Britain s top 20 research universities by this measure. The RAE also revealed that Leicester is home to Britain s top-rated

2 research department Museum Studies which has the highest concentration of world class research of any department of any discipline in the UK. For a University that believes teaching and research are synergistic, it is pleasing that the National Student Survey reveals the quality of our teaching is amongst the highest in the country. Since the launch of the survey in 2006, Leicester has consistently featured amongst the top-10 universities in England for student satisfaction. The Sunday Times recently described Leicester as "top... amongst mainstream multi-faculty universities for student satisfaction". Currently a University of 23,000 students, with a turnover of 260m and 3,800 colleagues, our future is bright. Our Strategic Vision describes our plans to invest a billion pounds in our estate as we transform our campus. Already consistently ranked in the top-20 universities in Britain, by 2015 we aim to rise further to become top-10. Leicester is the most inclusive of Britain s top-20 universities with the greatest proportions of students from under-represented groups. As a group of talented individuals we are more diverse than ever and stronger for it. At Leicester we are proud of our distinct approach, our achievements and our ambitious plans. If you share our approach join us. College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Head of College: Professor David Wynford-Thomas FMedSci The College s mission is to pursue the highest standards of research, education and training in biomedical and related subjects, and to apply this knowledge and expertise to enhance the quality of life and economic prosperity of populations, both locally and in the wider world. Its considerable academic resources mean that it is already widely recognised for the international impact of its research and the quality of its undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. This is reflected in the high proportion of academic staff regarded as international in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, and the consistently high ratings achieved in the National Student Survey. This is an exciting time to join a dynamic new academic enterprise and contribute to its development. The new College is creating the academic and physical environment to enable scientists and clinicians to work together across traditional boundaries to address some of the key outstanding questions in biomedical research and to engage with increasing effectiveness with commercial and public bodies. The College brings together 10 departments: Biochemistry, Biology, Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, Cardiovascular Sciences, Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, Genetics, Health Sciences, Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Medical and Social Care Education and Psychology. In addition the University hosts the MRC Toxicology Unit, with which there is close collaboration. Building on existing strengths, multi-disciplinary research themes have been developed to exploit synergies between basic science, clinical medicine and psychology in the College. These themes are in the fields of genome science; molecular & cellular bioscience; cancer; cardiovascular sciences; respiratory science; microbial science; neuroscience and behaviour; and population science. A further theme is exploring the research which underpins teaching & learning. ( The College has approximately 295 academic staff and 718 research, administrative and other staff, with a total of approximately 2,350 fte undergraduate students and 850 postgraduates. It has an annual turnover of 64M. University of Leicester 2 09 May 2013

3 The Department of Cardiovascular Sciences Head: Professor N J Samani BSc, MD, FRCP, FACC, FMedSci, DL Cardiovascular research has been a major strength of the Leicester Medical School since its inception. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 95% of the cardiovascular research in Leicester was considered to be of international level, over half the submitted outputs ranked as outstanding or excellent and one in seven of the submitted research outputs ranked as worldleading. The Department of Cardiovascular Sciences undertakes research ranging from molecular and cellular studies, all the way through translational research and into clinical studies. The strong links with the NHS were highlighted in the RAE. This has been further recognised by the award of a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) in Cardiovascular Disease to a partnership of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) and the University of Leicester, which has recently been renewed for a further 5 years from April In addition the Department oversees an NIHR Clinical Research Network in Stroke (Clinical Lead: Professor TG Robinson). The Department has strong links with the British Heart Foundation (BHF). It holds two BHF Chairs: one in Cardiology (Professor NJ Samani) and one in Cardiac Surgery (Professor G Murphy). In addition the BHF have been the major sponsor of the new 12.5 million BHF Cardiovascular Research Centre in Glenfield Hospital. Major areas of research in the Department include: cardiovascular genetics, vascular biology, hypertension and vascular damage, thrombosis and haemostasis, coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and baroreceptor regulation, cardiac arrhythmias, carotid and peripheral vascular disease, myocardial protection and regeneration, biomarkers and diagnostics. The Department is organised into three principal Research Themes to mirror cardiovascular subthemes in the College. These are: Cardiovascular Genomics and Proteomics (Academic members: Professor NJ Samani, Professor L Ng, Dr M Tomaszewski, Mr M Bown, Dr D Jones, Dr N Chong, Dr D Lodwick, Dr T Webb, Dr E Stringer) Cardiovascular Cell Biology and Signalling (Professor A Goodall, Professor N Brindle, Professor D Lambert, Dr C Erridge, Dr K Herbert, Dr R Rainbow, Dr J Thompson, Dr G Rodrigo) Cardiovascular Physiology and Clinical Trials (Professor T Robinson, Professor G Murphy, Professor AR Naylor, Professor R Panerai, Professor R Sayers, Professor T Coats, Professor AH Gershlick, Professor I Squire, Professor T Spyt, Dr GA Ng, Dr G McCann, Dr W Toff, Mr E Choke, Dr M Horsfield, Dr E Chung, Dr J Davies, Dr J Kovac, Dr D Chin) For clinical interactions and identity, academic staff are also grouped under several clinical research groupings, including cardiology, cardiac surgery, emergency medicine, hypertension, medical physics, pharmacology and therapeutics, stroke medicine and vascular surgery. The Department also hosts an Ophthalmology research group (Professor I Gottlob, Mr F Proudlock). The Department has close collaborations with academic staff located in other Departments in the College, notably Health Sciences, Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, Genetics and elsewhere in the University including Engineering and Physics. There are strong links with clinical staff in UHL, several of whom have extensive research programmes and hold honorary positions in the Department up to Chair level. Members of the Department also have extensive collaborations with national and international partners including Industry. The Department currently occupies excellent accommodation in the Clinical Sciences Wing in Glenfield Hospital and the Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building at the Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI). Construction of a new 12.5 million Cardiovascular Research Centre at Glenfield has recently University of Leicester 3 09 May 2013

4 been completed. This provides an additional 2,200m facility including a biobank capable of storing samples from up to 100,000 individuals, a clinical research informatics unit and a data to knowledge unit, which together captures, codes and translates anonymous patient data for research and accommodates an advanced IT link between the University and hospital. The NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) is an integral part of the Department. The mission of the BRU is to undertake high quality clinical research, especially translational research taking laboratory findings into the clinical setting and including Phase 1 through to Phase 3 studies. The BRU has established state-of-the-art facilities for clinical research on the Glenfield Hospital site including a 3T MRI scanner. The University has recently received a donation of 7 million from the John and Lucille van Geest Foundation to support cardiovascular research that will enable creation of a 2.5 million proteomics facility and a 4.5 million Cardiovascular Research Fund to pump-prime and support research projects in cardiovascular research. Departmental Administration The Department is managed on a day-to-day basis by an Executive committee, consisting of the Head of Department (Professor NJ Samani), Deputy Head (Professor TG Robinson), the College Cardiovascular Research Theme Lead (Professor AH Goodall), the Departmental Manager (Ms Susan Ackermann) and the Deputy Manager (Miss Janet Harris). The Executive Committee meets weekly. The Executive committee reports to the Departmental Strategy Board, comprising the Head and Deputy Head, Leads of each research theme and all other University-employed Professorial level staff in the Department. The Board, which meets bi-monthly, is responsible for setting the research strategy for the Department and advising the Executive on management of the Department. An Academic Committee (Chair: Professor A Goodall) is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate academic issues and running the Department s seminar program and research days. A technical and clerical sub-committee (Chair: Ms Susan Ackermann) is responsible for technical and clerical matters. The Cardiovascular BRU has its own Executive Committee. The Head of Department (and in his absence the Deputy Head) sits on the College Management Board and on the University s Senate and is responsible for the activities in the Department to the Head of College and the Vice-Chancellor. Background to the Project and Post Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of premature death and disability in the world. It is caused by a combination of lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors. Our group has been at the forefront of this genetic discovery programme through large-scale genome-wide association studies to identify genetic variants that affect risk of CAD. To date we have identified more than 45 loci that contribute to CAD (Nature 2007; 447: ; NEJM 2007; 357: ; Nat Genet 2011; 43: ; Nat Genet 2013; 45: An important observation from these studies has been that the majority of these loci do not work through known CAD risk factors suggesting that novel and hitherto unsuspected pathways that lead to CAD are yet to be discovered. Understanding these mechanisms may translate into development of new treatments. In collaboration with 5 other scientific teams (2 based in Europe and 3 based in USA), we have been awarded a prestigous Fondation Leducq TransAtlantic Network of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Program ( that aims to determine the mechanisms by which CAD associated University of Leicester 4 09 May 2013

5 genetic variants and there downstream effects lead to CAD. The advertised position is funded as part of the Leducq award. The principal task of the post-holder will use a state-of the-art genome editing approach to create human stem cell models to study the molecular and cellular effects of CAD associated genetic variants. Recombinant adeno-associated virus mediated genome editing (Nat Protocols 2011; 6: ) will be used to precisely knock-in risk variants into human pluripotent stem cells (hpscs) allowing functional analysis to be performed in a controlled isogenic background. Modified hpsc line pairs will be differentiated into cardiovascular cell types allowing the effects of specific variants to be unequivocally linked to gene function and cellular phenotype. Your Role Under the direction of the PI, you will plan and carry out the work programme and contribute to the overall research programme using innovative research models and approaches, testing and developing them to enable work to be carried out that will result in the emergence of new understanding within the research field. Principal Accountabilities Participate in experimental design and determining the direction of the program in line with reaching the goals of the research project Plan and carry out research in line with the work programme and contribute to the overall research programme using innovative research models and approaches Analysis of data and extrapolation to new themes/strands in area of research Writing up research findings for publication and for dissemination at scientific meetings and amongst the research team, collaborators and broader international community Provide advice and guidance to research students and other members of the team Participate in general laboratory activities to ensure the efficient functioning of the lab including health and safety Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience Essential *PhD in appropriate discipline *Evidence of research productivity (e.g. research publications in peer review journals, presentations, etc) Evidence of involvement in innovative research Knowledge and experience of research field Desirable Evidence of research productivity (e.g. research publications in peer review journals, presentations, etc) Knowledge and/or experience of cardiovascular research *Proven analytical and technical/scientific problem solving capability. *Good written and oral communication skills. University of Leicester 5 09 May 2013

6 *Effective interpersonal skills. * Ability to prioritise, plan, implement and deliver programmes of work effectively and to a high standard. Ability to demonstrate leadership skills throughout the team including problem solving (e.g. methodology and techniques) * Ability to demonstrate research potential and enthusiasm for the subject area, and to deliver high quality research Skills, Abilities and Competencies Essential *Good background in cell biology, molecular biology and genomics. *Ability to work well in a team. Good written and oral communication skills *Effective interpersonal skills. *Ability to plan, implement and deliver programmes of work. The ability to demonstrate leadership skills throughout the team including problem solving (e.g. methodology and techniques) Evidence of continued personal development of subject expertise Ability to communicate complex information clearly Effective planning and organisational skills To be able to demonstrate research potential and enthusiasm of the subject area and deliver high quality research To be able to prioritise, plan, organise and deliver a programme of work effectively and to the required standard Desirable *Experience in cell culture and cell-based assays *Experience of stem cell culture and differentiation Experience in presenting results at national/international meetings (*Criteria to be used in shortlisting candidates for interview and/or selection at interview) Applications Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Professor Nilesh Samani on njs@le.ac.uk. For further information and to apply on-line, please visit our website: The closing date for this post is midnight on 14 th May University of Leicester 6 09 May 2013

7 Candidates short-listed for interview will be contacted by the University. If you do not receive a communication from the University within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful. University of Leicester 7 09 May 2013