Research Assistant in Epigenetics of Human Development

Location: Hybrid Working

Vacancy terms: Part-time (0.9 FTE, 33.75 hours per week) or job share, fixed term contract for 12 months

Hours per week: 33.75

Advert closes midnight on: 08 Aug 2024

About the role

The Markaki lab is looking for a Research Assistant to support the development of imaging and expression profiling pipelines after a CRISPR gene editing screen in human pluripotent stem cells. The work will be conducted under the Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard funded project: ‘Regulation of the X chromosome in pluripotency, development and disease’. 

X-inactivation is a fundamental process that takes place in early embryonic development of XX female mammals to compensate for X-linked gene dosage with XY males. Female embryos do not survive without inactivating the X and its maintenance persists for life and is central to physiology. Although key features of X-inactivation have been deciphered using mouse models, the way this chromosome-wide gene-swiping process ensues in humans is not well understood. The goal of this project is to understand how X-inactivation is established in human development through perturbations of effectors that are essential for X-inactivation.

About you

The successful applicant should have a background in CRISPR/Cas9 editing, qPCR, NGS, confocal imaging and mammalian cell culture. The research will involve generating CRISPR/Cas9 edited cell lines in hPSCs and studying the effects with qPCR, transcriptomics and fluorescence microscopy.

Join us in unravelling the complexities of X-inactivation and contributing to ground-breaking discoveries in human development and disease treatment.

Additional information

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Dr Yolanda Markaki at yolanda.markaki@le.ac.uk

Applications for job share will be considered.

As part of the University’s ongoing commitment to professional development, this role will also be considered on a seconded basis for existing staff members. Please ensure this is discussed with your line manager prior to applying.  

The University of Leicester has been changing the world, and changing people’s lives, for 100 years. When you join us, you’ll become part of a community of Citizens of Change, which includes not only our staff and our current students but also thousands of Leicester graduates around the world.

As a diverse and forward-thinking employer, we embed the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. That includes not just our core missions of teaching and research, but also our support for staff, students and our local community through our values of Inspiring, Impactful and Inclusive. 

We’re committed to the wellbeing of all our staff and to the sustainability of our environment, on our campus and beyond. We offer a competitive salary package, excellent pension scheme and a generous annual leave allowance, along with opportunities to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative environment.

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