Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Duration – 2 years; Salary – ca. £40-48k p.a.; Deadline – 03 Dec 2023
Project description:
This is a joint project between The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH) and UCL Mechanical Engineering.
The physical-mechanical interactions that shape our skulls during infancy are poorly understood. This lack of fundamental knowledge limits our ability to advance treatment of a wide range of craniofacial conditions mostly affecting children. This is a significant engineering challenge due to the complexity of this system. In this project (CranioMech) you will address this challenge and critical gap in our knowledge while focusing on developing a revolutionary therapy for a major craniofacial condition called craniosynostosis (CS).
CranioMech aims to: (1) further develop the new therapy in mouse and unravel the fundamental underlying mechanism by which it works; (2) test its scalability in larger animal models; and (3) carry out a series of proof of concept studies in preparation for the first human trials, while unravelling the biomechanics of current treatments of CS.
Person specification:
The successful applicant will have a PhD in a relevant discipline, e.g. Biosciences or is near completion. They will have experience of using basic laboratory techniques (i.e. histology and immunohistochemistry) and a good knowledge of health and safety assessment/good laboratory practice. Experience in presenting and publishing work in leading conferences and journals in the field of biomedical science is essential. Experience in working with laboratory animals (i.e. mouse and pig) would be advantageous.
Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, the initial appointment will be at Research Assistant Grade 6B with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis. Please note the post is for 24 months in the first instance.
Any queries related to the position should be addressed to Dr Erwin Pauws ([email protected]) and Prof Mehran Moazen ([email protected]). Please see the following link for more information about this role and to apply for this position.