Research Associate in Biohybrids and Synthetic Cells

Location: Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus

Job Summary

Dr Yuval Elani from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London was recently awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to develop hybrid synthetic cells composed of living and synthetic components. He is seeking to appoint a Research Associate in Biohybrids and Synthetic Cells for up to 18 months (with the possibility of an extension) to work on this project.

The ambition of this project is to develop an engineering rulebook governing how artificial cells based on biomimetic soft-matter assemblies can be interfaced with living systems. This will lay the foundations of a frontier research area in which living and synthetic matter are intermingled. Cells and organelles will be used as functional modules that are chemically and physically linked to artificial cells. Bypassing the limitations of making new modules from scratch, and instead hijacking cellular components that have been sculpted through evolution, will enable a step change in artificial cell sophistication and capabilities and open up unchartered research areas in BioDesign.

In this project, you will develop new technologies to generate synthetic cells based on lipid vesicles, and explore how these can be interfaced with living systems to create new BioHybrid systems. Specifically, you will embed living cells and organelles within synthetic ones (or vice versa), and engineer new communication routes between living and synthetic cells. The BioHybrid systems will be designed with end application in therapeutics, bioproduction, and biosensing in mind.

The post is targeted at applicants with a multi-disciplinary expertise in one or more of the following areas: synthetic biology, microfluidics, chemical biology, artificial cells, and soft matter.

This post offers an excellent opportunity for academic career advancement in Europe’s number one hub for chemical biology and synthetic biology. Imperial College’s synthetic biology facilities are second-to-none, and include the fabriCELL centre for artificial cell research, and the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology.  The candidate will also have access to a suite of career development opportunities at the Imperial Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre as well as bespoke leadership training as part of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship programme.

Duties and responsibilities 

• To creatively craft their own project direction
• To pursue a world-leading, frontier research programme  
• To help manage the day-to-day operations of the Elani group
• To assume leadership roles within the group, and  help supervise undergraduate and PhD students
• To direct the work of small research teams
• To identify and work with collaborators within the group, Imperial, and other universities
• To help write research grants
• To engage in entrepreneurship activities relating to the project
• To present findings to colleagues and at international conferences
• To submit publications to refereed journals

Essential requirements

• Hold a PhD (or about to submit a PhD) in Chemistry, Bioengineering, Biophysics Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience.
• Practical experience in a broad range of techniques including for example: cell culture, gene circuit design, synthetic biology,  microfluidics, fluorescence techniques, biochemical assays, microscopy, electron microscopy, analytical techniques, cell free protein expression, molecular biology
• Thrives in working in vibrant, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative teams
• Able to supervise research students, and to lead sub-teams of research working on aligned projects  

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £38,194 – £41,388 per annum

Further Information

Start date is flexible. You can start immediately and up to 01 September  2023.  This contract is for up to 18 months, with the possibility of an extension. The post is based in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London (South Kensington Campus).

*New appointments will have a maximum starting salary of £43,093 based on experience. 

For further details on the role please contact Dr Yuval Elani at y.elani@imperial.ac.uk.

To apply, please visit our website via the 'Apply' button above.  Candidates will need to complete an online application.

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 on Monday 29^th May 2023

For technical issues when applying online please email support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk

The College is currently trialling a Work Location Framework until early 2023.  Hybrid working may be considered for this role and the role holder may be expected to work 60% or more of their time onsite, with 40% the minimum time spent onsite.  The opportunity for hybrid working will be discussed at interview.

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level.

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/ 

Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment. We are an Athena SWAN Silver award winner, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident Employer and work in partnership with GIRES to promote respect for trans people.