Research Assistant

About us

The mission of the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health is to maximise and advocate for the holistic health of all children, young people and the adults they will become, through world-class research, education and public engagement. The UCL GOS ICH, together with its clinical partner Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, forms the largest concentration of children’s health research outside North America. The 2024-29 GOS ICH strategy focuses on its five scientific programmes. GOS ICH’s activities include active engagement with children and families, to ensure that our work is relevant and appropriate to their needs. GOS ICH generates the funding for our research by setting out our proposals in high quality applications to public, charitable and industrial funding bodies and disseminates the results of our research by publication in the medical and scientific literature, to clinicians, policy makers and the wider public. Th e Institute offers world-class education and training across a wide range of teaching and life learning programmes which address the needs of students and professional groups who are interested in and undertaking work relevant to child health. GOS ICH holds an Athena SWAN Charter Gold Award.

About the role

The successful applicant will have the exciting opportunity to investigate a novel way to target the blood brain barrier (BBB) for increased access for systemically administered larger therapeutic access to the central nervous system (CNS), with proof-of-concept work in vitro and in vivo, alongside targeting a rare neurodegenerative disease for downstream translational application, using cutting-edge models and tools. This project will provide a novel proof-of-concept data. The project will use mRNA-LNP technology to transiently alter BBB permeability in vitro in different models. The successful applicant will use implement various standard laboratory techniques s uch as RT-qPCR, in-cell western, western blot, immunocytochemistry alongside cell viability and cellular toxicity assays to assess efficacy and toxicity of the mRNA-LNPs. The project will further generate proof-of-concept in vivo. Please see the job description for more details.

About you

We expect the successful applicant to have a MSc in Biomedical Sciences or related degree and experience in cell culture and standard laboratory techniques. The applicant needs to demonstrate strong motivation, ability to commit to deadlines, ability to present research with presentations and publications. Please see the job description for more details.

What we offer: Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the wor ld’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/ If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Madhur Sharma ich.hr@ucl.ac.uk on quoting job reference.

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