Laboratory Research Scientist

Salary: From £36,535 per annum with benefits, subject to skills and experience

Laboratory Research Scientist

Eachan Johnson

04/Nov/ GMT

Contract term: This is a full-time/part-time, fixed term (3 years) position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Reports to: Eachan Johnson, Group Leader

Salary for this Role: From £36,535 with benefits, subject to skills and experience

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.

The Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher.

This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high-quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.

The lab, which opened in January 2021 and is supported by Crick core funding, the UKRI Horizon Europe Guarantee, BBSRC and the Gates Foundation, explores how pathogenic bacteria survive and cause infection.

Working at the interface of genetics, chemical biology and machine learning, the team develops small molecules to disrupt key bacterial processes and understand their impact on survival, infection and resistance. We have developed approaches to study multiple bacterial pathogens in parallel, with a primary focus on Klebsiella pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The work aims to inform next-generation antimicrobial therapies.

We are looking for a Laboratory Research Scientist to join a large-scale project investigating how small molecules affect the survival of the Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The project forms part of Gr-ADI, an international collaborative programme working to accelerate the discovery of new treatments for bacterial infections.

This is a great opportunity for an early-career scientist to develop hands-on experience in molecular microbiology, high-throughput screening and data analysis, while contributing to research with the potential to inform new antibacterial therapies.

You will be responsible for:

• Perform molecular biology and microbiology experiments, including strain construction and growth assays.
• Support high-throughput and phenotypic screening experiments.
• Prepare sequencing libraries and screening plates.
• Process, quality-check and analyse experimental data.
• Contribute to method development, troubleshooting and laboratory protocols.
• Maintain accurate experimental records and help keep the laboratory organised.
• Work closely with scientists across the lab, Crick technology, platforms and external collaborators.

• * Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, biological engineering or a related field.
• * Hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques such as PCR, cloning and DNA extraction, alongside microbial culture.
• * Experience with next-generation sequencing and high-throughput experimental…