Research Fellows (two posts)

Two posts available and an appointment will be made to focus on each of the themes outlined below. The two positions are funded by the Norwegian Research Council and applicants should indicate their preferred theme/focus in their application: Perform research into the impact of glycosylation, primarily OGlcNAcylation, on prostate cancer cells with an emphasis on proteomic targets for these modifications and effects on chromatin and transcription factor recruitment to DNA (post one); Develop new metabolic models for prostate cancer progression focussing on introducing and characterising impacts of mitochondrial mutations (post two).

MAJOR DUTIES:

• To design, develop and refine experiments to obtain reliable data. They will also be expected to evaluate, interpret and report the findings appropriate to the area of research.
• Develop and plan an area of personal research and expertise, and/or undertake research under supervision within a specific research project or as a member of a research team.
• To obtain grant funding for fellowships, awards, project or travel support and to attend and present findings at research group meetings and other relevant local, national and international meetings.
• To prepare, in consultation with the supervisor, material for publication in high quality peer-reviewed journals.
• To carry out occasional undergraduate supervision within own areas of expertise and under guidance of a member of the academic staff.
• To assist in the supervision of post-graduate students or summer students in order to promote the development of supervisory skills.
• Present regular progress reports on research to members of the research group, collaborators or to external audiences to disseminate and publicise research findings.
• Carry out routine administrative tasks associated with the research project/s to ensure that project/s are completed on time and within budget. These might include organisation of project meetings and documentation, financial control, risk assessment of research activities.
• Read academic papers, journals and textbooks to keep abreast of developments in own specialism and related disciplines.
• Any other reasonable duties within the general ambit of the post and competence of the post-holder.

Planning and Organising:

• Planning of various aspects of the research project(s) including: Independent day-to day planning of experiments and 1-3 months (short term) planning of research, 6-12 months (long term) organisation of the research direction/targets as well as contingency planning.
• Prioritise and reprioritisation of research/experiments in order to meet deadlines and targets.
• Organise informal meetings to communicate directly with other lab members, supervisor and/or collaborating partners both internal and external to CCRCB. Resource Management Responsibilities: Support the development and training of support staff and students by making available their research experience and expertise. Take shared responsibility for the upkeep of lab equipment and replenishment of lab stocks and exercise due diligence when using equipment.

Internal and External Relationships:

• Communicate openly with lab colleagues’ latest research findings.
• Develop contacts with other labs within the research community at Queen’s and look to identify potential cross-discipline collaborations.
• Apply the same philosophy to external collaborations and network at conferences and meetings.
• Join national and international scientifically relevant societies.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Have or about to obtain a PhD in Cell/Molecular Biology or closely related subjects.
• At least three years relevant experience in range of cell/radiation biology techniques which must include tissue culture, protein biology (Western Blotting, Flow Cytometry) and whole cell assays (survival, profileration, viability, or cell motility).
• Experience of a range of molecular biology techniques which must includeshRNA, siRNA, genome editing (CRISPR-CAS) real-time PCR, cloning, clonal cell-line development, luciferase and other reporter-based assays.
• Publication record commensurate with stage of career.
• Experience of chromatin immunoprecipitation and transcript profiling with associated bioinformatics.
• Experience of multi-parametric assessment of drug responses in preclinical models – phenotypic assays (adhesion, migration, proliferation), signalling (phosphoproteome arrays and SILAC experience.
• Ability to contribute to broader management and administrative processes. Contribute to the School’s outreach programme by links with industry, community groups etc.
• Must demonstrate good team working and communication skills.
• Sufficient breadth and depth of specialist knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.
• Ability to build contacts and participate in internal and external networks.
• Competent in formulating and delivering oral and written presentations.
• Evidence of having presented work at national and international conferences (poster and/or oral).
• Organised and attentive to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Must demonstrate a true commitment to and interest in research.
• Must be willing to work irregular hours when necessary for the progress of the research project.
• Must be willing and able to travel to national and international meetings.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA:

• Personal Animal licence.
• Research experience in cancer cell metabolism. Ideally evaluating changes in metabolic flux through the glycolytic pathway and
• mitochondrial activity. This would optimally involve prior experience with the Seahorse XF Analyzer or similar instrumentation. .
• Research experience in the use of animal models as evidenced by a personal licence and ideally research publications.
• Bio-imaging experience (quantitative confocal microscopy).
• Experience of mitochondrial transfer/cybrid generation
• Evidence of publications in high impact journals.
• Computational biology experience – accession of raw sequencing and microarray data, processing and evaluation based on differential expression and functional annotation of dysregulated networks.