Post Doctoral Research Associate

Fixed Term until July 2026. Immediate Start

Full-time, 35 hours per week 

2 positions

The Opportunity:

We are looking for two highly motivated and talented Post Doctoral Research Associates to conduct key laboratory research utilising Synthetic Biology and genome editing approaches to engineering CHO cells to optimise biologics production. The proportion of biologics within the medicines industry is currently estimated at 20 per cent, but it is growing fast and by the end of this year the global biologics market is predicted to reach a value of $319bn. 

CHO cells are the most widely used industrial system for producing recombinant therapeutic proteins, but can struggle to express some protein-based therapeutics at high quality and sustained high levels. In this project we aim to address these issues with a systematic programme of synthetic biology and genome engineering that combines innovative approaches to concomitantly increase CHO cells' capacities to express and secrete important industrially relevant biologics.

This project is part of an £8.7M EPSRC Prosperity Partnership between Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies UK and the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester and York (https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/news-events/news-2021/8-7m-collaboration-modern-medicines). There will be multiple opportunities for the post holder to interact with leading academics and industrial partners.

Applicants should have or shortly obtain the relevant qualifications for this role in an appropriate discipline with research experience in at least one of the following: CHO cell biologics/protein production, synthetic biology, genome editing/engineering, mammalian cell engineering, molecular biology or a related area. Experience in bioinformatics is highly desirable. You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to write clearly and succinctly for publication.  You must also be able to develop and apply new concepts and have a creative approach to problem-solving.  

The successful candidates will join the lab of Prof Susan Rosser (http://rosser.bio.ed.ac.uk/). Prof Rosser is the director of the BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology (CMSB) (http://www.synbio.ed.ac.uk/) and co-director of the Edinburgh Genome Foundry (http://www.genomefoundry.org), hosted by the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Find out more about our engineering biology community here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/centre-engineering-biology

 Your skills and attributes for success: 

• CHO Cell engineering
• Genome Editing
• Mammalian Synthetic Biology
• Bioinformatics

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