Research Assistant

About the Role
We are seeking a motivated and skilled Research Assistant to join the Whelan laboratory at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London. This Wellcome Trust-funded position will focus on understanding how HIV-1 manipulates nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), nucleocytoplasmic trafficking and the host cytoskeleton to achieve viral nuclear import in primary T cells. Using cutting-edge fluorescence microscopy platforms including High Content Screening and VT-iSIM super-resolution imaging, you will support live-cell and fixed experiments tracking HIV-1 infection and viral synapse formation and apply quantitative image analysis pipelines to characterise NPC architecture and cell dynamics during HIV-1 infection. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to high-impact HIV research at the interface of cell biology, virology, and advanced imaging.

The position is for 24 months and is expected to result in peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals.

About You
You will hold a BSc and MSc in a relevant biological or biomedical discipline and bring hands-on experience across cell biology, virology, microscopy, bioinformatics, and molecular biology. Specifically, you will have experience in fluorescence microscopy techniques, including confocal imaging and Python based programming.

About the School/Department/Institute/Project
The Blizard Institute is a world-class biomedical research centre embedded within QMUL's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, integrating basic science, clinical research, and translational medicine across five research centres spanning cell biology, genomics, immunobiology, neuroscience, and public health. You will be based within a collaborative and well-equipped imaging environment, with access to state-of-the-art microscopy facilities supporting research across the institute.

About Queen Mary
At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.

Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.

We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits
We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.

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