Senior Research Technician

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £28,397 to £30,210, with potential progression once in post to £33,938

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to December 2025

Role Summary

The McDonald laboratory is seeking a motivated person to fill the role of laboratory technician as part of a funded BBSRC Pioneers project. This role is full time and fixed term for 1-year. Applicants wanting to work part-time (>60%) will also be considered. This project seeks to establish an experimental system to study the movement of giant Starship transposons within fungal genomes. In this project the technician will be directly involved in the design and execution of experiments using both filamentous plant pathogens and the model fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with support from a Post-doctoral researcher and PhD student.

The post-holder will be responsible for:

• Growing fungal cultures under sterile conditions
• Preparation of appropriate growth media, buffers and other reagents
• Assisting a PhD student and Post-doc with molecular cloning experiments and fungal transformation
• Generating genetic transformats of S. cerevisiae using chemical transformation
• Perform experiments using flow cytometry and assist in maintaining this equipment
• Molecular cloning in E. coli, yeast and Agrobacterium
• Communicating with all project members to help deliver on the common goals of the project.

Person Specification

The ideal candidate will have a BSc/MSc in the area of molecular biology, microbiology, genetics or plant biology. Prior experience with genetic transformation of yeast or other microorganisms is highly desired though not required. The position is well suited for individuals who are seeking to gain a diverse set of laboratory skills ranging from molecular cloning, genetic transformation, flow cytometry, single-cell sorting and in planta infections. The candidate should have a strong interest in the evolution of pathogenicity in fungal pathogens and will have the opportunity to explore this exciting research area in further depth during their employment.

The position is fully funded for 1-year from the start date, ideally in October 2024. The position is based in the Plant Science & Food Security theme within the School of Biosciences. The candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to research manuscripts, the training of undergraduate and post-graduate students.

Informal enquiries can be made to Megan McDonald, email: m.c.mcdonald@bham.ac.uk 

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

Closes: 30/09/2024

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