Postdoctoral Fellow

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: 12 months

The Opportunity:

This is an exciting opportunity to work on a UKRI-funded programme grant investigating the role of E3 ubiquitin ligases in cancer pathogenesis and treatment with ionising radiation. The project will focus particularly on brain cancers, including glioblastoma, and will examine how ubiquitin-dependent signalling pathways regulate tumour biology, DNA damage responses and sensitivity or resistance to radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment for many cancers, including aggressive brain tumours. However, the molecular mechanisms that determine tumour response to ionising radiation remain incompletely understood. This project aims to identify and characterise genes and pathways that regulate radiation response, with the long-term goal of discovering new therapeutic vulnerabilities.

The successful candidate will join a dynamic and collaborative research environment with expertise in cancer biology, ubiquitin signalling, DNA damage responses, proteomics, genome editing, imaging, functional genomics and translational cancer research.

The Project

The post-holder will work within Professor D’Angiolella’s research group to investigate how E3 ubiquitin ligases and related post-translational regulatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis and treatment response of brain cancers.

The project will combine biochemical, molecular and cellular approaches with relevant tumour models to define how ubiquitin-mediated regulation controls cancer cell responses to ionising radiation. The work will include experimental studies of DNA damage signalling, radiation response, protein regulation, tumour cell survival and potential therapeutic sensitisation strategies.

The post-holder will be expected to conduct original research, analyse and interpret data, contribute to publications and presentations, and work closely with internal and external collaborators.

Key Responsibilities

The post-holder will:

• Perform biochemical, molecular and cellular experiments to study E3 ubiquitin ligases in the pathogenesis and treatment responses of brain cancers.
• Develop, maintain and characterise relevant experimental models, including mammalian cell culture systems and tumour models.
• Investigate cellular responses to ionising radiation, including DNA damage signalling, cell survival, treatment resistance and radiosensitisation.
• Analyse, interpret and present experimental data clearly and rigorously.
• Maintain accurate, detailed and up-to-date records documenting experimental procedures, data analysis and research progress.

Research Environment

The successful candidate will join the D’Angiolella laboratory at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh. The laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer and exploiting this knowledge to develop improved therapeutic strategies.

The group has a particular interest in ubiquitin-mediated regulation, DNA damage responses and brain tumours. The post-holder will benefit from the outstanding research environment at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, including access to expertise in cancer biology, proteomics, imaging, functional genomics, genome editing, disease modelling and translational research.

The project will involve close interactions with collaborators across the CRUK Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence and other research groups working on brain tumour biology, chromatin biology, proteomics and therapeutic discovery.

Career Development

The postdoctoral fellow will be supported to develop as an independent scientist through regular mentoring, opportunities to present work nationally and internationally, manuscript preparation, grant-related experience, training opportunities and supervision of junior colleagues.

The role provides an excellent opportunity for a researcher interested in cancer biology, radiation response, ubiquitin signalling and translational brain tumour research to develop a strong scientific profile within a collaborative and well-supported environment.

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