Senior Laboratory Research Scientist - High Throughput Screening

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Short summary

The High Throughput Screening (HTS) facility is one of the core  science technology platforms (STP’s) available to all researchers at the Crick.  We enable researchers at all levels to use large-scale screening techniques as part of their research. Our most popular activities include arrayed genome-wide CRISPR deletion and CRISPRa over-expression screens, genome-wide RNAi screens, large-scale cell-based screens with collections of well-characterised small molecules or proof-of-concept probe or tool discovery screens. The majority of the output of these screens is high content imaging.  We also develop novel screening platforms as required by researchers one example of which is our development of a high throughput neutralisation assay to assess the ability of patient serum to prevent SARS Cov-2 infection (now succesfully spun off as a separate unit within the Crick).

Key Responsibilities

• Full project engagement and involvement (both strategically and at the bench) from initial assay development, to prosecuting the screen and final data analysis
• Quickly understand new biological systems and techniques when necessary and drive the whole screening process
• Creation of cell-based assays for high throughput screening applications in collaboration with, and harnessing the expertise of, domain experts
• Using existing High Content Imaging and liquid handling infrastructure effectively and inventively across a wide range of projects
• Employ a range of different reagents and where appropriate reagents are not available, create new ones e.g. creating cell lines
• Independently explore new screening techniques and approaches with a focus on meeting the user’s needs within tight timelines
• Establish viable cell free assays and prosecute such screens at scale with a range of modalities (e.g. HTRF, FP, thermal shift assays)
• Maintaining a productive dialogue with users throughout project lifecycle

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 the ‘Apply’ button above.
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.

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