Laboratory Research Scientist - Biodesign Laboratory

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Short summary

The Biodesign Laboratory works at the interface between high-throughput experimental biology and big-data computation. Our goal is to make bioengineering as robust, quantitative, and predictable as physical engineering. By using modern techniques in automation, machine learning, and molecular approaches, we can surface and interpret large datasets about biological systems to improve engineering outcomes.  

The Project 

The lab will launch with projects focused on allosteric protein engineering and chassis organism engineering. 

Allosteric protein engineering: Our computational protein engineering capabilities today are largely limited to designing rigid proteins. We will use modern structure prediction methods (Alphafold II, Rosetta) and robotics-accelerated evolution (PRANCE) to design and evolve allosteric proteins that adopt multiple conformations, such as a CRISPR-for-the-epigenome.

Chassis organism engineering: The organisms we see on Earth occupy a tiny fraction of possible chemical space, and can inhabit only a small fraction of possible environments. We aim to engineer organisms with novel genetic codes that can be safely used in extreme environments, i.e. biocontained microbes that are adapted for use on Mars.

The postholder will be responsible for:

• Conducting evolution experiments, including equipment setup, maintenance for bioreactors, and management of laboratory automation
• Working with laboratory automation to characterise evolved proteins and organisms at scale
• Assisting in writing grants and research papers, and in preparing presentations 

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy. 

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• The closing date for applications is 10.04.2023
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.

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