Research Assistant / Associate

The Sawarkar lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit is looking to appoint a Research Associate (Postdoctoral Fellow) to contribute to its programme on Epigenetics, tRNA transcription and Neurodegeneration. The project will use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to identify epigenetic determinants that lead to protein misfolding in neurons.

Using single-cell technologies for in vivo mouse models as well as embryonic stem cell differentiation models of neurodegeneration, the project will identify mechanisms leading to age-associated protein misfolding in neurons. The focus of the work will be on the role of tRNAs in neurodegeneration and protein misfolding.

Your role will be to support the research activities of the group and conduct your own research projects within the remit of the research programme at the frontiers of molecular bioscience.

For further details, please see Leone et al (2024) Mol Cell and Mulroney et al (2024) Nature.

You will need to hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in an appropriate field such as molecular cell biology/chromatin/transcription, together with proven skills obtained in a molecular cell biology lab (RNA work, mammalian cell culture, cloning and protein work). You will be able to work both independently and as part of a team, have excellent communication and organisational skills with full commitment to the publication of data.

The MRC Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focussed on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease. The Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including mass spectrometry, microscopy, and bioinformatics, and offers excellent opportunities for scientific career development.

Appointment to Research Associate is dependent on having a PhD. Where a PhD has yet to be awarded or submitted, appointment will initially be made as a Research Assistant (grade 5 salary) and amended to Research Associate when the PhD is awarded.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years (to 31st August 2026 in the first instance), with the possibility of further extension.