Research Associate in Electrochemical Biosensor Development

Location: South Kensington Campus

Job Summary

A Research Associate in Electrochemical Biosensor Development is sought to work on the development of biosensors to support RNA vaccine manufacturing. The post is funded by the Wellcome Leap Fund as part of a large consortium to develop a continuous RNA vaccine synthesis device.  The specific role for this post is to develop electrochemical biosensors for RNA quantity and integrity.  Building from an existing biosensor design with an optical output, the main goals are to adapt the biosensor for continuous monitoring and enable an electrochemical output for easier integration into the device.

Duties and responsibilities

You will develop, fabricate, and test biosensor designs to measure RNA integrity and capping efficiency.  Working with other members of the consortium, you will integrate these into the RNA manufacturing device and test their performance in continuous processing. As part of this, you will benchmark the biosensor measurements against gold-standard assays for RNA length such as electrophoresis or HPLC and for capping efficiency such as splinted ligation polymerase chain reaction.

Essential requirements

The following essential knowledge, skills & experience are sought:

• PhD in electrical engineering, electrochemistry, bioengineering or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience
• Practical experience in a broad range of techniques including biosensor development, fabrication, testing, and data analysis
• Experience of dealing with biological samples
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team

The following knowledge, skills & experience is also desirable:

• Practical experience in expression and purification of proteins for use as biosensor recognition elements
• Practical experience in working with RNA samples
• Knowledge of bioprocess development and/or vaccine manufacturing workflows
• Knowledge of RNA structure and biochemistry

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £36,697- £39,888 per annum

Further Information

The post is a fixed term contract for up to 36 months to start as soon as possible. The post is based in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London (South Kensington Campus).

Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Prof. Karen Polizzi k.polizzi@imperial.ac.uk.

To apply, please visit our website: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/ You will find this vacancy by searching either the position title or job number: ENG01952 Please ensure you include a completed application form with your submission.  

Further information about the post is available in the job description.

Should you have any queries about the application process please contact chemeng.staffing@imperial.ac.uk.

Closing date: Midnight Sunday 12th December 2021

For technical issues when applying online, please contact: recruitment@imperial.ac.uk

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. We are an Athena SWAN Silver Award winner, a Disability Confident Leader and a Stonewall Diversity Champion.

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