Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Edinburgh – Central Area     ·    Full time

Job Description

UE07: £34,304 pa – £40,927 pa

College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine / Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences / Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences

Fixed Term / 2 years / Full time, 35 hours per week

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Gillingwater laboratory at the University of Edinburgh (https://www.ed.ac.uk/biomedical-sciences/anatomy/staff/anatomyteachingstaff/tomgillingwater).

The Opportunity:

The post-holder will contribute to the development of a programme of high-quality research investigating mechanisms underlying motor neuron disease (ALS). The project will involve using mice as a model organism to study how defects in protein translation contribute to motor neuron degeneration in ALS.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• A PhD in neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cell biology, molecular biology or similar
• Interest in motor neuron disease, or neurodegeneration more generally
• Friendly and able to work as part of a close-knit research team
• Experience in working with in vivo models of neurodegeneration
• Good written and oral communication skills

Click here for a copy of the full job description.

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. We give you support, nurture your talent and reward success. You will benefit from a competitive reward package and a wide range of staff benefits, which includes a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family friendly initiatives, flexible working and much more. Access our staff benefits page for further information and use our reward calculator to find out the total value of pay and benefits provided.

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Interviews will be held as soon as possible after the closing date.

If invited for interview you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role.  If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.

About Us

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.

About the Team

The Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, which is headed by Professor Mike Shipston, employs around 350 staff mostly located in the central George Square area. Biomedical Sciences hosts the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences (CDBS, Head: Professor David Wyllie) and Infection Medicine (IM, Head: Professor Juergen Haas) and also has strong links with Edinburgh Infectious Diseases (EID, Head: Professor Ross Fitzgerald). Research themes within Biomedical Sciences include: Genes and Development; Membrane Biology; Neural Control Systems; Cognition, Learning and Synaptic Plasticity; Neuropharmacology; Basic and Clinical Virology; and Bacterial Pathogenesis and Chemotherapy.

Also within Biomedical Sciences is the Biomedical Teaching Organisation (BMTO) which plays a vital role in the administration, coordination and implementation of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. The BMTO is responsible for the BSc Medical Sciences programme, twelve BSc Biological Sciences Honours Programmes, seven Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours programmes, five BSc Veterinary Sciences Honours Programmes, nineteen Biomedical Sciences courses delivered to first to third year undergraduates and twenty-six Honours elective courses. In addition the BMTO has responsibility for the MSc programmes run by Biomedical Sciences.

Biomedical Sciences is located across a number of sites: the Chancellor’s Building and Queen’s Medical Research Institute at Little France; the Medical School in Teviot Place; the Hugh Robson Building, George Square and No 1 George Square.

In REF2014, the College submitted to three Units of Assessment (UoAs): UoA1 Clinical Medicine, UoA4, Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, and UoA6 Agriculture, Veterinary & Food Science. Most of the staff in Biomedical Sciences were returned in UoA4 (Neuroscience); this return was ranked 3rd in the UK out of 82 submissions. Forty nine percent of the return was rated 4*. Medicine, the University’s largest submission, was ranked joint fourth with Cambridge in the UK. Veterinary Medicine came 1st in the UK, and retained its position as the UK’s top Vet School. The College’s three REF submissions were the University’s largest and also were some of the largest REF submissions in the UK, emphasising the enormous power of Edinburgh’s research in human and animal medicine and health. We currently attract 157 research grants, worth a combined £42 m.

Biomedical Sciences holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of excellence in science, engineering and technology employment in higher education relating to supporting women in science.

Additional Info:

Job Identification : 2216
Job Category: Academic
Locations: Hugh Robson Building, Edinburgh, EH8 9XE, GB
Posting Date: 10/06/2021, 07:11 PM
Apply Before: 11/05/2021, 01:00 AM
Degree Level: Doctorate Degree
Job Schedule: Full time
Job Shift: Day
Health and Safety Requirements: Key hazards identified (plan is in place)
Criminal Record Check: No criminal record check required
Contract Type: Fixed Term

Please click here to apply.