Research Assistant in Skeletal Muscle Biology

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. The 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.

We are seeking Research Assistant to contribute to an experimental programme investigating skeletal muscle responses to mechanical and metabolic stress. The postholder will be responsible for conducting and supporting animal studies including surgical procedures, animal monitoring, endpoint assessments, tissue collection and processing. The role will also involve a range of histological and molecular analyses, including tissue sectioning and staining, RT-qPCR, ELISA and RNAscope.

The postholder will analyse experimental data and undertake statistical analyses under the supervision of the research team. Post is available for one year in the first instance from 1/12/26.

The successful candidate will have an MSc in a relevant biological or biomedical science and experience of working in a research laboratory. Previous experience of animal experimentation, particularly mouse handling and tissue collection, and/or molecular or histological techniques would be highly desirable. You will be organised, reliable and meticulous, with the ability to follow experimental protocols accurately and maintain high standards of record keeping and data quality.

You will be able to work independently while also contributing effectively as part of a multidisciplinary research team. A willingness to learn new techniques, good analytical skills and a genuine interest in skeletal muscle biology and experimental research are essential.

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’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.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here :