Experimental Officer in Metabolomics - School of Biosciences - 99212 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Biosciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974

Grade 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to January 2026

Closing date: 28 April 2024

Please do note this role relates to (3501) in which due to business needs we will only be recruiting 1 vacancy between the two roles

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The post has been created by an exciting collaboration between Phenome Centre Birmingham and the Horizon 2020 PrecisionTox consortium ,, and will contribute to fulfilling their shared research objectives with a focus on applying mass spectrometry metabolomics to study human health and toxicology.

Over the past 7 years, Phenome Centre Birmingham (PCB) has built an international reputation specialising in toxicological and biomedical metabolomics to improve our mechanistic understanding of the effects of chemicals and disease on human health, and to identify predictive biomarkers. The centre implements and delivers state-of-the-art metabolomics research services to academia, industry and government, both locally, nationally and internationally. The PCB contributes significantly to the University of Birmingham’s international reputation in Metabolomics, enabling it to undertake high impact (inter)national projects that benefit the global population.

The 20 million Euro PrecisionTox project, led by the University of Birmingham and involving 15 European and US organisations, blends advanced molecular and computational approaches with law and economics to establish a new cost-effective testing paradigm for assessing the safety of chemicals. The PrecisionTox project seeks to revolutionise toxicology, replace animal testing, and reduce uncertainty in chemical safety assessment. Metabolomics lies at the heart of PrecisionTox, with the PCB providing all of the metabolic phenotyping capability for the world’s largest comparative, multi-omics toxicological study.

Role Summary

The post holder will primarily be involved in the application of LC-MS metabolomics to multiple toxicological and human health related projects in the Phenome Centre Birmingham, working with eight others in the team whose expertise spans analytical chemistry, bioinformatics and biostatistics to metabolic biochemistry and toxicology. The successful applicant must be highly motivated to contribute to fulfilling the objectives of both the PCB and the PrecisionTox project.

The post will focus on applying high-throughput analytical methods, including advanced robotic sample preparation and state-of-the art hybrid LC-MS metabolomics assays that combine untargeted analyses with targeted measurements of metabolic biomarkers. The metabolomics will be conducted under QA/QC within a CRO-like environment. Sample types that will routinely be analysed include human cell lines, tissues and biofluids, as well as multiple model organism extracts (C. elegans, Drosophila, Zebrafish, D. magna, Xenopus). The post will involve collaborations with scientists within and external to the University of Birmingham (academic, industry, scientific instrument manufacturers), including with other members of the PrecisionTox consortium. It will initially be for 2 years with potential for extension.

Main Duties

• Perform metabolomics and lipidomics analysis (metabolic phenotyping) by applying hybrid LC-MS(/MS) assays - that combine untargeted and targeted analysis - to various biological sample types related to toxicology and human health.
• Perform sample preparation methods, both manual and using state-of-the art Beckmann Coulter robotics platforms. The focus is to maximise metabolite extraction while enabling high-throughput sample handling of low biomass samples.
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive records of protocols and procedures applied during study planning, sample preparation, and LC-MS data acquisition – all within a QA/QC environment.
• Ensure optimal operation of PCB instrumentation, including routine maintenance and troubleshooting instrumental problems, to meet goals in a timely and efficient manner.
• Potential to implement novel metabolic phenotyping methodologies to enhance the capabilities and capacity of the PCB.
• Work with the PCB scientific leads and business manager to achieve the objectives of the PCB and manage the expectations of collaborators.
• Apply rigorous and effective project planning and project management, from sample arrival through to assisting with reports to collaborators.
• Contribute to the dissemination of high-quality research in peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences and to the general public.
• Potential to provide training, where needed, in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry within the PCB and/or the School of Biosciences.
• Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the analytical laboratory work.

Person Specification

• First degree in chemistry/biochemistry (or equivalent field)
• Higher degree (Masters or PhD or one near to completion) in (bio)analytical chemistry or equivalent work-related experience (essential)
• Experience of working in an industrial (e.g. CRO), government or academic laboratory with a focus on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the analysis of small molecules. (essential)
• Hands-on skills in LC-MS, preferably with experience with Thermo Scientific instrumentation. (essential)
• Hands on experience of sample preparation for mass spectrometry.
• Be highly organised with an attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly and efficiently.
• Detailed knowledge of laboratory safety and QA/QC practices.
• Good intellectual reasoning.
• Ability to assume responsibility.
Excellent interpersonal skills for working within the large PCB team.

Informal enquires to Prof Mark Viant ( m.viant@bham.ac.uk ) and Dr Andrew Southam (a.d.southam@bham.ac.uk )

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .