INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
Post:
Research Technician
School/Department:
Human Genetics Unit
School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, MRC University
Vacancy Reference Number:
3014870
The University of Edinburgh (http://www.ed.ac.uk/)
The University of Edinburgh has been instrumental in shaping history for over 400 years. An
exciting, vibrant, research led academic community we offer opportunities to work with
leading international academics whose visions are shaping tomorrow’s world. Our 21
Schools, spread across 3 Colleges, offer over 350 undergraduate and 160 postgraduate
courses to in excess of 29,000 students each year.
As a member of staff, you will not only be part of one the world’s leading Universities, but
also part of one of the top employers in Edinburgh, with over 7800 people spread a cross a
wide range of academic and supporting roles.
The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (http://www.mvm.ed.ac.uk/)
The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, is headed by Professor Sir John Savill;
who is also the Head of the Medical School. The Medical School in Edinburgh can trace its
origins back nearly 500 years (Darwin, Simpson and Conan-Doyle were students here) and
is internationally renowned for its research and teaching The existing qualifications for
undergraduates are amongst the most competitive in the UK.
The academic disciplines within Medicine are largely concentrated in the two teaching
hospitals in Edinburgh, namely the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France (RIE) and
the Western General Hospital (WGH). The new RIE was recently constructed on a green field
site under a Private Finance Initiative (completed 2002). It is a state-of-the-art multispeciality hospital linked with the Medical School which is housed in two purpose built
teaching and research facilities, the Chancellor's Building and the Queen's Medical Research
Institute providing the accommodation and facilities required for the majority of the clinical
students and associated academic clinical staff previously located at the old Royal Infirmary
in central Edinburgh.
The Western General Hospital (WGH) has also undergone major redevelopment of its clinical
research and teaching facilities. The Molecular Medicine Centre (£5m) was opened in 1995,
a new Wellcome Millennial Clinical Research Facility (£4m; joint development between the
Wellcome Trust, University and Lothian Health), a £40m new clinical wing, the Anne
Ferguson Building, and a new Medical Education Centre (£1m) were opened in 2001, and a
new Cancer Research Building (£7m) in 2002. The University (through its Medical School)
and Lothian Health work in close collaboration to ensure the co-ordination of the Health
Board's Integrated Health Care Plan for Lothian with the University's teaching and research
plans.
RAE 2008
In RAE 2008, the College submitted to three Units of Assessment, reflecting cross-centre
working in physical or virtual institutes. Across the College, just under 70% of staff can be
considered to have been working at the internationally excellent (3*) level or above.
The College was placed first of 28 submissions in the UK in Hospital-Based Clinical Subjects,
submitting 162 staff, predominantly from the Queen's Medical Research Institute
(Cardiovascular Science, Inflammation Research, Regenerative Medicine and Reproductive
Biology including the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit) and the Institute of Genetics
and Molecular Medicine (Molecular Medicine, MRC Human Genetics Unit, Cancer Research
and Population Health Sciences/Primary Care). All staff were at the international level with
80% of the submission at the internationally excellent (3*, 40%) or world-leading level (4*,
40%).
The College was placed fourth in Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science, but this was the
best placed submission including a Vet School and delivered the largest volume of 4*
research in the whole UK, with 111 staff from the Roslin Institute, Centre for Infectious
Diseases and the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
The College was sixth in the UK in Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology,
submitting 92 staff from Edinburgh Neuroscience, a virtual institute incorporating the Centre
for Clinical Brain Sciences, the Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems, the Centre for
Neuroregeneration Research and the Centre for Integrative Physiology.
School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine
Molecular and Clinical Medicine is one of four Schools in the College of Medicine & Veterinary
Medicine and is headed by Professor Stuart Ralston. The School comprises 3
Interdisciplinary Research Centres - the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (incorporating
Clinical Neurosciences and Psychiatry); the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre
(incorporating Oncology and most of Pathology), and the Molecular Medicine Centre
(incorporating Gastroenterology, Medical Genetics, Psychiatric Genetics and Rheumatic
Diseases). The School also hosts Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit (ECTU) which recently was
granted full registration with the UK Clinical Research Consortium and was awarded MRC
clinical trials methodology hub status. The School currently attracts grants of approximately
£46M, including a number of full programme grants, and houses over 450 staff including 29
Professors, 200 other academic members of staff and 224 members of support staff.
In addition there are smaller interdisciplinary Research Groups (IDG) in Brain Imaging and
the Disorders of the Ageing Brain and a nascent IDG in the Genetics of Complex Disease
and Related Traits.
The Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) has also recently been established
on the WGH campus as a strategic alliance between the University and the MRC Human
Generics Unit. The IGMM comprises over 500 staff from the MRC Human Genetics Unit, the
Centre for Molecular Medicine and Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre.
The campus houses one of only five Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facilities (WTCRF) in
the United Kingdom. The WTCRF provides state-of-the-art facilities for investigators
undertaking multi-disciplinary Clinical Research and include clinical, laboratory and
specialised support. There is a common application and administrative process for
applications and investigators can apply to use any, or all, of the resources available.
Further details may be obtained at website: www.wtcrf.ed.ac.uk. The WTCRF hosts the
£15M Clinical Research Imaging Centre at Little France, which comprises a cyclotron, PET
chemistry, a PET/64-slice CT scanner, 3T MRI, the first 320-slice CT in the UK and space for
development of human optical imaging.
The School also houses Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit (ECTU), a Collaborative Clinical Trials
Unit which was established in 2006 with funding from the NHS and the University of
Edinburgh. The ECTU gained full registration with UKCRC in 2007 and was formally launched
in April 2008. The ECTU Collaboration comprises individual researchers spread across
Lothian, who are based in both university-based research groups and the NHS. An
innovative programme of methodological research underpins a substantive portfolio of
clinical trials. ECTU has established an internationally recognised portfolio of clinical trials,
focusing on a range of clinical specialities, including Emergency Medicine & Critical care,
Head injury, Musculoskeletal disease, Psychological Medicine, Stroke, Experimental
Medicine, Maternal & Child Health, and Cancer. ECTU is part of the Scottish Collaboration of
Trialists.
Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) (http://www.igmm.ac.uk/)
The IGMM was formed in 2007, as a consequence of a strategic alliance between the MRC,
the University of Edinburgh and Cancer Research UK (http://www.igmm.ac.uk/)
The IGMM constitutes one of the largest aggregate of human molecular genetics research
capacity in the UK and brings together over 500 scientists and support staff in a single
scientific endeavour; the IGMM mission is:
“To identify molecular and cellular mechanism underlying normal human development,
maintenance and disease, including malformations, later onset anomalies and cancer, and
translate these findings for clinical benefit".
The IGMM is entering into an exciting phase of further integration and is seeking a
communications professional to support the senior management team in enhancing all
aspects of external and internal communications.
MRC Human Genetics Unit (http://www.hgu.mrc.ac.uk/)
The Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit is at the forefront of research into
human genetics. Its role is to advance the understanding of genetic factors implicated in
human disease and normal and abnormal development and physiology. The Unit's 20 +
programmes of research cover the themes of developmental genetics, common disease
genetics, chromosome biology and models for human genetic diseases. The unit is one of
the largest MRC research establishments supporting approximately 220 scientists, support
staff, fellows, PhD students and visiting scientists.
Job Description
Job Purpose
The post holder will be involved in the management of colonies of mice, which have been
generated within the Chromosome and Gene Expression Section of the MRC Human
Genetics Unit. The mice have been generated by groups within the Section and will either
have mutations in specific genes or carry other novel DNA sequences.
Research objectives
The Chromosome and Gene Expression section is interested in how chromosomes are
organised in mammalian cells, and how genes are switched on and off in different tissues
and cell types. The Groups in the section do this by looking at the control of transcription by
chromatin through to the links between DNA, transcription and mRNA. Understanding how
these processes function requires sophisticated genetic manipulations in stem cells, and the
use of transgenic mice. The main objective of this post is to contribute to our understanding
of the basic biology of gene expression by providing research support to multiple groups
working in this area.
Main Responsibilities
Approx. %
of time
• Mouse Colony Management Provision of transgenic mouse material for the varied research projects in
the Chromosomes and Gene Expression section
Ensuring that the various transgenic mouse colonies are an appropriate size
for each scientific project
60%
Management of new combinations of mice strains.
Setting up matings and timed matings of transgenic mice to produce
sufficient animals of desired genotype
Archiving of mouse lines and tissues.
• Mouse Genotyping Taking tissue samples for isolation of DNA and determination of genotype of
mice from these samples by PCR or Southern blot.
30%
• Meticulous Record Keeping and Sample Handling Recording data, methods and procedures in a tidy, methodical and
retrievable manner, and using a specialist database program.
5%
Recording the number of animals used for scientific procedures in
accordance with Home Office regulations
• Liaising with Individuals within Specific Research Programmes Keeping group leaders and other researchers appraised of the status of
mutant mouse colonies related to their scientific programmes.
• Contribute to Health and Safety Procedures -
4%
1%
Including COSSH, risk assessment and general laboratory housekeeping.
Planning and Organising
Work will be directed from the programme leaders and the post holder will report initially to
them on a regular basis. The post holder will also report to the other programme leaders
and relevant researchers to discuss new breeding strategies, genotyping results where
appropriate and colony sizes. The post holder will also keep the Section head appraised of
overall status of mouse colonies for Chromosomes and Gene Expression Section. The post
holder will be required to work with transgenic mice housed in two separate animal facilities.
Good organisational skills will be required to allow for a 48 hour quarantine period between
these facilities.
Problem Solving
The post holder will be responsible for managing space and numbers within the animal
facilities to allow the research programmes to proceed with their research. Designing and
setting up new genotyping PCRs, and “troubleshooting” difficult or problematic genotyping
PCRs will be part of this post. This skill will be developed under guidance where appropriate.
Decision Making
The post holder will need to prioritise their own workload to keep within the needs of the
projects and requirements of the Group leaders. The post holder will be responsible for
making decisions regarding the overall management of the mouse colonies to provide a
supply of transgenic animals and material to researchers in the Chromosomes and Gene
Expression section.
Key Contacts/Relationships
The job holder will establish good working relationships within the Chromosomes and Gene
Expression section, and with the managers and staff from the University animal facility and
MRC transgenic animal facility.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience Needed for the Job Qualifications required
BSc in a relevant scientific discipline, e.g. molecular genetics, cell biology, molecular
biology, or equivalent previous laboratory technical experience.
Or
Home Office Personal licence and proven experience of management of transgenic mouse
colonies. Conversant with all aspects of Animals Scientific Procedures Act legislation.
Essential:



Good understanding of Genetics
Excellent organisational skills
Ability to prioritise across multiple projects



Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Accurate record keeping and database entry
Interest in the scientific work of the section
Desirable:





Home Office Personal Licence
PCR
Understanding of Molecular Biology techniques
Experience of managing transgenic mouse colony
Experience of working with mice in scientific research
Dimensions
The post holder will be managed by the group leader and will work in a group of 35-45 post
docs, research support and PhD students in the Section of Chromosome and Gene
Expression of the MRC Human Genetics Unit. The post-holder’s time will be divided between
the Chromosomes and Gene Expression laboratory, an Edinburgh University animal facility,
and an MRC transgenic animal facility. The post-holder will be based in the Chromosomes
and Gene Expression laboratory and will be expected to attend weekly Section seminars and
research programme meetings.
Job Context and any other relevant information



Strong interpersonal skills for collaborative working within the section
Take initiative when needed
Training will be provided to obtain Home Office Personal Licence as necessary
Additional information
For informal enquiries contact mvm.advertising@ed.ac.uk
Please attach a CV with your application.
Further information on the sections work is available at
http://www.hgu.mrc.ac.uk/research_at_the_unit_section/research.html
Salary
The role is University grade UE05 and attracts an annual salary from £20,409 to £23,661
for 35 hours, each week. Salary is paid monthly by direct transfer to your Bank or Building
Society account, normally on the 28th of the month. Salaries for part-time staff are
calculated on the full-time scales, pro-rata to the Standard Working Week.
[It is anticipated that the MRC Human Genetics Unit will become part of the University of
Edinburgh on 1 October 2011 (the "MRC Human Genetics Unit at the MRC IGMM at the
University of Edinburgh"). As the start date for this post will be after the planned merger
date this position will be a University appointment and subject to University terms and
conditions. During this recruitment exercise applicants should note that their application
details will be shared with the MRC HGU.]
Application Procedure
We encourage all applicants to apply online at http://www.jobs.ed.ac.uk/. The application
process is quick and easy to follow, and you will receive email confirmation of safe receipt of
your application. The online system allows you to submit a CV.
Alternatively, call our recruitment line on 0131 650 2511 or email jobs@ed.ac.uk for an
application pack. Please complete and return the Application form, including a statement
addressing how your application meets the Person Specification, Additional Personal
Information Form and Rehabilitation of Offenders Form to Human Resources, Queen's
Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ by the
closing date of 14 October 2011. Please complete the equal opportunities form and return
in the separate prepaid envelope. We cannot guarantee to consider late applications.
Please quote job reference no: 3014870
The University reserves the right to vary the candidate information or make no
appointment at all. Neither in part, nor in whole does this information form part of
any contract between the University and any individual.
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with
registration number SC005336.