Research Assistant/Associate

Company description:

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Job description:

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Assistant/Associate to join our biosciences institute in the medical sciences department on a BBSRC-funded project.

In this role, you will be embedded within the Biosciences Institute hosting one of the UK's largest groupings of neuroscientists, spanning the full range of approaches from molecular genetics to behaviour with a particular strength in system neuroscience. The Biosciences Institute is home to the largest community of non-human primate (NHP) researchers in the UK, benefiting from outstanding animal facilities and veterinary support.

What will I be doing?

Hand function is fundamental to daily life, for our technology, communication, culture and social interaction, and loss of hand function is devastating. But there is still a lack of understanding of how precisely grasping unfolds in time, from the first sight of an object through hand pre-shaping to the actual grasp and how it is influenced by interactions between grasping brain areas.

You will use electrophysiological methods, including large-scale Neuropixel recordings and causal manipulations using pharmacological and optogenetic interference techniques, to investigate interactions in the brain network controlling visually guided grasping. You will assist with animal training and sterile implant surgeries, and then perform daily electrophysiological recordings of neural and muscle activity during trained behavioural task performance. Further key tasks include; data analysis, producing drafts of publications as well as giving presentations on the findings at international conferences.

Assuming a highly successful grant outcome leading to publications of high-impact papers, you will have strong career prospects within and outside of academia.

This post is fixed term until 24 September 2026. For informal enquiries contact: sasha.kraskov@newcastle.ac.uk

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/

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