AddressApplications are invited to recruit an enthusiastic Research Assistant or Research Associate to work on an MRC-funded project with Professor Eoin McKinney in the Cambridge Institute for Immunotherapy and Infectious Disease (CITIID). Research within the McKinney group, funded by MRC and NIH grant support, is focused on Integrating Multimodal Genomic Data fromHuman Cohorts to gain insight into the aetiology underlying immune-mediated diseases, ranging from T1D and lupus through to vaccine responses and healthy ageing (see Xhonneux et al Sci Transl Med 2021, Fabre et al Nature 2022, Imrie et al Plos Digital Health 2023, Bashford-Rogers et al, Nature, 2019; McKinney et al, Nature, 2015;). The post will be based in Eoin McKinney's laboratory in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, incorporating CIITID and the Cambridge Stem Cell institute, on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The project also involves collaborations with groups in the Stem Cell Institute (Cambridge), Babraham Institute and in the CNR in Sardinia, Italy. Together, the team incorporates clinician scientists and academics with extensive expertise in multimodal integrated analysis.
The project will use an established protocol for pre-enriching peripheral immune cell populations from blood taken during an experimental medicine study of vaccination in a healthy, aged individuals. Samples will be characterized using multi-omic single cell analysis. Integrative analyses will combine high-throughput datasets, including single cell RNA-sequencing, multi-parameter spectral flow phenotyping and antigen receptor repertoire analysis alongside clinical meta-data. The goal will be to identify mechanisms of altered immune responsiveness in age and, ultimately, how they might be modulated. In doing this they will enhance their analytic skills, but also become familiar with both immunology and experimental medicine.
Applicants should have a primary degree in biomedical sciences or a PhD. Those without a PhD may also be considered as a research assistant and, for the right candidate, there may be the opportunity to progress to study for a PhD. Experience with molecular biology is required. Coding experience with previous data analysis using R or python is desirable but not essential.
