Imperial College London

Job Description

Job Title: Research Associate (Two Posts)

Section: Virology

Division: Infectious Diseases

Department: Medicine

Job Family and Level: Research and Education, Level B

Salary Range: £26,720 - £38,930 per annum

Responsible To: Professor G L Smith

Funding: Wellcome Trust

Location: St Mary’s campus

Duration: Fixed-term for five years

Research Programme

Professor GL Smith directs a research group investigating the replication and immune evasion strategies of poxviruses, particularly vaccinia virus (VACV), the vaccine used to eradicate smallpox. The long-term goals of this research are to understand the mechanisms by which poxviruses evade the host immune response and to use this information to design safer and more immunogenic vaccines based on live poxviruses. VACV and other poxviruses express many proteins to interfere with the immune response to infection. These include proteins that are secreted from infected cells and can bind cytokines, chemokines, complement factors or interferons, and intracellular proteins that inhibit apoptosis, signalling cascades or the intracellular action of interferon-induced antiviral proteins. The research programme will study the proteins at several levels. First, new candidate immunomodulatory proteins will be identified and studied by recombinant DNA technology and molecular virology. Second, proteins that are known to contribute to virus virulence will be studied to determine their mechanism of action and identify the proteins with which they interact. Third, proteins will be expressed and purified and their structure determined by X-ray crystallography either alone or complexed with their ligand(s) in collaboration with Prof David Stuart FRS at the University of Oxford. Lastly, the immunogenicity of recombinant viruses that do or do not express specific proteins will be investigated in vivo.

The group is multinational and is composed of about 15 people who are funded by grants from the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and Imperial College. The group includes postdoctoral and postgraduate research assistants, PhD students and visiting scientists. The group is located in modern research laboratories that have been completely refurbished and contain state-of-the-art research equipment. Job Summary

The post doctoral Research Associates will undertake research on vaccinia virus immune evasion strategies under the direction of Professor GL Smith. In addition, the post holder will contribute to the successful running of the research group including supervision of junior staff (as necessary) and the maintenance of equipment and research materials. There will be an opportunity to undertake some teaching and this is encouraged although not essential.

Research Duties

 Undertaking research agreed between the Research Associate and Professor G L Smith  Collecting and analysing scientific data in relation to the project(s)  To ensure the validity and reliability of data at all times  To maintain accurate and complete records of all findings  Contributing to the writing of research reports and publications  Presenting findings at internal and external meetings  Actively participating in laboratory and other meetings (including seminars), as appropriate  Keeping up-to-date with the scientific advances in the field  Willingness to work out of normal working hours (including weekends) if the requirements of the project demand  To collaborate with other scientists within Imperial College and elsewhere, as appropriate  To contribute to the smooth running of the Group’s laboratories and, facilities with other scientists, clinicians, technicians and students within the laboratories  Assist in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research students and research assistants as required  To comply with the College, Division, and local safety practices and to attend courses on safety when appropriate  Any other duties as may be deemed reasonable by Head of group as well as Head of Division/Department/Section

Other Duties

 To undertake appropriate administration tasks  To attend relevant meetings  To comply with relevant College policies, including Financial Regulations, Equal Opportunities Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy, Health and Safety Policy, Information Systems Security Policy, Intellectual Property Rights and Register of Interests Policies  To undertake any necessary training and/or development  Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by line manager/supervisor Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and so the post holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

The post holder is expected to observe and comply with all College policies and regulations, for example Health and Safety, Data Protection etc.

Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination. All employees are expected to adhere to the principles set out in our Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy and Disability Policy and all other relevant guidance/practice frameworks. Person Specification

Qualifications

 PhD in virology or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience

Knowledge/Experience

 In-depth knowledge of virology, molecular biology and innate immunity.  Knowledge of research methods and statistical procedures  Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant journals  Practical experience in a broad range of techniques including in tissue culture, molecular biology, virology and innate immunity.  Computer literate with a good knowledge of relevant computer programs with experience in data presentation and statistical analyses

Skills and Abilities

 Proven skills in tissue culture, molecular biology, virology and immunology techniques  A track record of success in a research environment  Proven ability to work towards a goal or objective in the face of technical difficulty  Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining a high degree of accuracy  Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision  Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines  Proven competence in interacting effectively with colleagues to solve scientific problems  Ability to record the progress of scientific research work such that others may understand and repeat the work  Ability to analyse data using statistical methods  Adept in presenting scientific information effectively  Ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature  Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide range of people  Excellent written communication skills and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for publication  Ability to exercise initiative  Ability to develop effective working relationships with all levels of staff, students and external contacts  Ability to work independently and as part of a team  Skills with office productivity software

Personal Attributes

 Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and co- operative  Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times  Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role  Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct research and attend conferences Application Guidance

Please read the person specification carefully and describe, as part of your application, how much you feel you meet each of the criteria. If you need more space, please attach additional sheets to the application form.

The recruitment monitoring section of your application will be detached and will be used only for monitoring and audit purposes as a basis for supporting our commitment to Equal Opportunities.

An application form and full CV quoting reference number HM2010008 should be sent, by the closing date of 4 February 2010, online via the Imperial College iRecruitment website.

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted as soon as possible after the closing date.

Interviews will be held on 11 February 2010.

Thanks you for your interesting this post. We look forward to receiving your application.