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Research Associate

Job details
Posting date: 17 April 2024
Salary: £37,099 to £45,585 per year
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 14 May 2024
Location: S10 2TN
Remote working: Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week
Company: University of Sheffield
Job type: Temporary
Job reference: UOS040704

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Summary

We have an exciting opportunity in the School of Medicine and Population Health for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position, which is perfect for a researcher with a passion for driving biological discoveries through to development of new cancer therapeutics. It is ideally suited to an enthusiastic researcher looking to use their skills in cancer biology, bone biology, cancer cell dormancy, translational research and/or relevant fields who want to have an impact on patients with incurable cancers that grow in bone (myeloma and advanced breast and prostate cancer).

You will join the School of Medicine and Population Health at The University of Sheffield, and become a member of the Cancer and Bone (CAB) Lab, led by Dr Alanna Green. The CAB Lab is within the Division of Clinical Medicine and the University-wide interdisciplinary Cancer Research Network and Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research. We have a diverse work environment that is world-leading for bone oncology, with a strong history of taking discoveries from the lab through to the clinic. Our team uses innovative models and techniques to investigate the mechanisms that enable cancer cells to evade chemotherapy, including the role of the bone microenvironment. We publish our work in leading journals and conferences in the field, and have taken our discoveries in the lab through to clinical trials. You will be supported with a number of career development opportunities, including applying fellowships.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated researcher to work on the first phase of an 8-year Wellcome Trust-funded award. The project will investigate how dormancy allows cancer cells to evade chemotherapy and identify weaknesses of dormant cell to enable us to develop new dormancy-targeting therapeutics. You will use clinically-relevant in vitro (2D/3D) and in vivo models of multiple myeloma dormancy and chemotherapy-resistance developed by our team. You will test new dormancy and niche-targeting therapeutic approaches to kill dormant cancer cells, and perform multi-omic characterisation of dormant cells and their microenvironment to identify new therapeutic targets. You will be based at The University of Sheffield with a visit to the Luxembourg Institute of Health to learn and perform single cell metabolomics. You will also liaise with international collaborators at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, the Garvan Institute, Australia and industrial partners Oxcia AB.

You should have a PhD or be close to completion in relevant biomedical fields (molecular or cell biology, cancer biology, bone biology) or have equivalent experience. You will be a highly motivated and hard-working with the ability to design, perform and analyse experiments with attention to detail and integrity. The project will include a wide range of models and techniques, experience in cell culture and molecular biology techniques are essential, with experience in large panel flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy being desirable. Experience in mouse models of myeloma/cancer and/or bone would be highly desirable. Experience in metabolomics and/or RNA sequencing and bioinformatics would also be highly desirable. You will have experience in some, but not necessarily all, of these techniques. You will communicate your findings with the group, at scientific meetings and through preparation of scientific publications. Excellent communication skills, written and oral, and the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team, are essential.

This is a 3-year post, with potential to extend to 2032. We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

We’re one of the best not-for-profit organisations to work for in the UK. The University’s Total Reward Package includes a competitive salary, a generous Pension Scheme and annual leave entitlement, as well as access to a range of learning and development courses to support your personal and professional development.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

To find out what makes the University of Sheffield a remarkable place to work, watch this short film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LblLk18zmo, and follow @sheffielduni and @ShefUniJobs on Twitter for more information.

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