Postdoctoral Research Associate

Full time contract (35 hours per week)

Fixed term (12 months) 

We are seeking highly motivated postdoc candidates to join the Swaffer lab and lead a major project addressing how cell size impacts gene expression & cellular signalling. While the significance of cell size for cellular physiology has been appreciated for many decades, we still have a surprisingly poor understanding of the mechanisms that couple the inner molecular workings of the cell to its size. Using yeast and/or mammalian cell lines as model systems, this project will take advantage of the quantitative and interdisciplinary expertise of the Swaffer lab to build on recent breakthrough discoveries regarding how transcription and cell size are coupled (Swaffer et al., Cell 2023).

The Opportunity:

We're a multi-disciplinary group that combines approaches across cell, molecular, systems & quantitative biology, and we welcome applicants from diverse academic backgrounds. This position provides the opportunity to build an ambitious research project addressing a fundamentally important but poorly understood area of cell biology; namely cell size scaling. 

Candidates with technical experience in any of the following areas are especially encouraged to apply:  quantitative single-cell microscopy, RNA biology, gene regulation & system biology. 

The start date is flexible and funding is through an 8-year Wellcome Trust grant to Dr. Swaffer.

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• Strong motivation to contribute to a novel area of cell biology research: i.e. cell size.
• Strong organisational, communication and critical thinking skills to drive success working both independently and as part of a collaborative team. 
• Command of standard techniques in molecular biology and cell culture (either mammalian cells or yeast cells).
• Expertise & training in one or more of the following: RNA biology, functional genomics, bioinformatics, single-cell imaging or quantitative image analysis.

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