Postdoctoral Project Research Scientist

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, London

Short summary 

We are recruiting a motivated postdoctoral scientist to join the labs of Kinases and Brain Development https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/sila-ultanir at the Francis Crick Institute, London, UK and Mark Isalan at Imperial College London https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/m.isalan. The postdoctoral scientist will run a translational project to develop zinc finger protein transactivators for treatment of a neurodevelopmental disorder. 

Ultanir’s laboratory studies the roles of protein kinases in neuronal development and function. Kinases regulate numerous cellular processes by phosphorylating their substrates. A major focus in the lab is understanding the functions of a serine/ threonine kinase called CDKL5. 

The Isalan lab has long worked on a zinc finger engineering platform for gene therapy (PMID 11433278, 23054839, 27600816).

Key Responsibilities

In this project, we aim to develop ZFPs which can upregulate CDKL2 mRNA expression and test if these can rescue molecular, cellular and behavioural defects in CDKL5 deficiency models. Postdoctoral researcher will generate and test zinc finger protein transactivators. They will then use CDKL5 knockout mouse models to determine if they can restore CDKL5-mediated functions at molecular and behavioural level. iPSC derived neurons of CDD models will also be used to test rescue of phosphorylation substrates. Postdoctoral researcher will lead their own projects, contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis and help train PhD students.

Key experience and competencies

The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values: 

Bold; Open; Collegial 

Essential

• PhD in biology, biochemistry, neuroscience or a related discipline or in the final stages of PhD submission
• Good knowledge of molecular biology skills
• Track record of writing papers as evidenced by publications or submitted manuscripts in referred journals
• Evidence of data presentation at scientific meetings 

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, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL, 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 our website.
• The closing date for applications is 14/11/2024
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.

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