Research Assistant

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant to work on a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary project to develop transgenic rodent models of Parkinson’s disease. The work will support projects seeking to use rodent models of disease to understand the earliest stage of neurodegeneration at a point in which neuronal dysfunction precedes neuronal loss, offering an early therapeutic window for therapy. The post will be based in the Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, and is supported by an international consortium funded by an Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) grant, and by the Wellcome Trust.

Duties include colony management, breeding and maintenance of lines of transgenic rodents; collection of brain tissue for gene expression analysis; general laboratory management, preparation of data for publication; contributions to wider project planning and determine the most appropriate methodologies to test hypotheses. You will have a good working knowledge of molecular and cellular biology, excellent practical experience of working with animal models and an interest in pre-clinical in vivo models of neurological disease. Previous experience of the management and maintenance of transgenic rodent lines would be an advantage. The ability to innovate, trouble-shoot technical problems, be meticulous in practical work and in record keeping is also essential.

Applicants must hold, or be near completion of, a BSc/MSc in a relevant area of research and will have excellent practical experience of working with animal models.

The fixed-term post is available immediately for 3 years. The post will be based in the Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PT.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor Richard Wade-Martins (richard.wade-martins@dpag.ox.ac.uk).

Closing date for applications is midday on Monday 19th June 2023. Interviews are likely to be held in the week commencing 26th June 2023.

Applications are particularly welcome from women, black and minority ethnic candidates who are under-represented in academic posts in Oxford.

We, as a Department and Community, will be considerate and welcoming of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. We acknowledge societal inequalities and how these impact us, and those around us, personally and professionally. – DPAG Statement of Inclusion.