LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
Research Fellow, Immunology Unit – EMR09
1.
ADVERTISEMENT
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is seeking to appoint a Research
Fellow to work on a project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council (BBSRC). The post-holder will work together with a Lecturer to
conduct laboratory research on the role of IL-27 in the regulation of T cell priming,
differentiation and memory during infection and vaccination.
Part of the University of London, the LSHTM is the largest institution of its kind in Europe
with a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise encompassing many disciplines. The
School was ranked one of the top 3 research institutions in the country in the Times
Higher Education’s 'table of excellence', which is based on the 2008 Research
Assessment Exercise (RAE), ahead of the London School of Economics, Oxford,
Imperial and University College, London. The institution also achieved the largest
increase in ranking compared with 2001 of any of the top 10 institutions in the RAE
rankings. The School was awarded the 2009 annual Gates Award for Global Health,
both the first academic institution to win the award and the first British winner.
The person we wish to appoint will have prior experience in laboratory-based research
preferably in the field of immunology and will have skills in cell culture, flow cytometry,
quantitative PCR and imaging.
The Research Fellow will be appointed as a full-time post on the Academic Pathway
Grade 6 pay scale at a salary of £35,194 per annum. The post is available from 1st
December 2009 for a duration of 1 year and 9 months.
Potential candidates are invited to contact Prof Eleanor Riley in the Immunology Unit
(Eleanor.Riley@lshtm.ac.uk) for further information on the role.
Applications should be made on-line via our website http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk.
The reference for this post is EMR09. Any queries regarding the application process
may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk quoting the reference number EMR09. Closing
date for applications is Friday 9th October 2009. Interviews to be held on 23rd October
2009.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.”
THE SCHOOL
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is Britain's national school of
public health and a leading postgraduate institution worldwide for research and
postgraduate education in global health.
Part of the University of London, the London School is the largest institution of its kind in
Europe with a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise encompassing many
disciplines. The School was ranked one of the top 3 research institutions in the country
in the Times Higher Education's 'table of excellence', which is based on the 2008
Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), ahead of the London School of Economics,
Oxford, Imperial and University College, London. The institution also achieved the
largest increase in ranking compared with 2001 of any of the top 10 institutions in the
RAE rankings.
The School's environment is a rich multicultural one: every year over 800 students come
to the School from around 120 countries to study doctoral or masters degrees. The
School has about 1200 staff drawn from around 45 nationalities.
There are research collaborations with over 100 countries throughout the world, utilizing
our critical mass of multidisciplinary expertise which includes clinicians, epidemiologists,
statisticians, social scientists, molecular biologists and immunologists. At any one time
around 80 School staff are based overseas, particularly in Africa and Asia. We have a
strong commitment to partnership with institutions in low and middle income countries to
support the development of teaching and research capacity.
The School has expanded greatly in recent years. Its research funding now exceeds £48
m per annum, much of it from highly competitive national and international sources. The
distance learning programme which was launched in 1998 now caters for over 2000
students studying on four masters programmes. The commitment of staff to
methodological rigour, innovative thinking and policy relevance will ensure that the
School continues to occupy a leadership position in national and global health, adapting
quickly to new challenges and opportunities.
Mission
The School's mission is to contribute to the improvement of health worldwide through the
pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and advanced training in
national and international public health and tropical medicine, and through informing
policy and practice in these areas.
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Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
The Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases encompasses all of the laboratorybased research in the School as well as that on the clinical and epidemiological aspects
of infectious and tropical diseases. It is headed by Simon Croft, who is Professor of
Parasitology. The range of disciplines represented in the department is very broad and
inter-disciplinary research is a feature of much of our activity. The spectrum of diseases
studied is wide and there are major research groups with a focus on malaria,
tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, vaccine development
and evaluation, and vector biology and disease control. The Department is organised
into four large research units comprising: Pathogen Molecular Biology, Immunology,
Disease Control and Vector Biology, and Clinical Research. There is close interaction
between scientists in different research teams. The Department has strong overseas
links, which provide a basis for field studies and international collaborations in developed
and developing countries. The teaching programme includes MSc courses, taught inhouse and by distance learning, which are modular in structure, a variety of shortcourses and an active doctoral programme (PhD and DrPH).
The Immunology Unit (Head: Prof. Eleanor Riley)
Research and teaching in the Immunology Unit centres on analysis of the host response
to infection at the molecular, cellular and population levels. Our goals are to develop a
greater understanding of the basic mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity and to
apply this knowledge to the development of immunological or chemical interventions and
the identification of correlates of immune status. Our work involves application of stateof-the-art cellular and molecular approaches to the in vitro analysis of pathogen-host cell
interactions, to in vivo studies in animal models and to the study of immunity at the
population level in disease endemic areas.
The Unit currently comprises 15 academic staff, 14 post doctoral research fellows and
15 research assistants as well as three full-time administrative staff and 6 core-funded
technical staff; there are currently 20 full-time PhD students registered within the Unit.
Research groups share large, modern, multi-user laboratories and office space on the
second and fourth floors of the main Keppel Street Building. The Unit houses an
extensive, recently refurbished P3 research facility, a flow cytometry suite, Luminex, ABI
Prism 7000 (Taqman) and BiaCore facilities and the Wolfson Centre for Cell Biology.
The Wolfson Centre is a self contained imaging suite housing electron and light
microscopy, comprising Jeol JEM-1200 EXII Transmission and Jeol-25S III Scanning
Electron Microscopes with digital imaging, a Zeiss LSM510 confocal microscope with
Eppendorf microinjector, two widefield imaging systems with Volocity software for
quantitation and deconvolution analysis and an Arcturus Laser Capture Microdissection
instrument (website http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/immu/wcbf/). Our core-funded P2/P3 animal
facility is currently being upgraded to permit in vivo imaging at P3 containment.
Malaria Research
The London School Malaria Centre brings together the many diverse malaria activities
carried out under the auspices of LSHTM. Co-ordination of LSHTM's research, teaching
and malaria control activities has enhanced its contribution to the renewed efforts to
control malaria, including innovative research on new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics.
Basic research on the immunology of malaria infections underpins many of these
activities. The objectives of the LSHTM Malaria Centre are to:
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Facilitate malaria research both in the School and in malaria endemic areas
Encourage the development of links between scientists of different disciplines
based at LSHTM interested in the problem of malaria
Facilitate the development of strong links between scientists in the School and
colleagues working in malaria endemic areas, in industry and for non-
governmental organisations contributing to global efforts to control malaria
infection
About 90 staff at LSHTM work wholly or partially on malaria and it is the chosen topic of
around 40 staff and students registered for research degrees. The Centre holds regular
meetings and also arranges a seminar programme which is open to all interested
participants within and outside the School. A two-day annual meeting is held which
provides an opportunity for School staff and their overseas collaborators to discuss their
work on malaria in a friendly but critical manner. Current research at LSHTM includes
studies in the areas of epidemiology, immunology and vaccine development, molecular
and cell biology of the parasite, drug development and evaluation, vector control and
economic studies.
2.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The post holder will conduct laboratory-based research designed to test the hypothesis
that the recently discovered cytokine interleukin-27 (IL-27) plays a key role in the
establishment of anti-malarial immunity. Using experimental models of malaria - caused
by species and strains of malaria parasites of differing virulence - we will examine the
effect of IL-27 (or its absence) on the initial induction of the immune response, on the
ability of mice to maintain this immune response over time (immune memory) and on
their ability to regulate inflammatory responses by switching to an anti-inflammatory
response.
Post:
Grade:
Responsible to:
Unit:
Start date:
Hours of work:
Research Fellow
Academic Pathway Grade 6
Prof. Eleanor Riley, Principal Investigator on the Project and Head
of the Immunology Unit
Immunology
1st December 2009 (approximately)
There are no fixed hours of work for academic staff. Staff are
expected to work such hours at such times as are reasonably
required to carry out the duties associated with the post, but not
less than 35 hours per week for a full-time appointment.
The post holder will be expected to

Carry out laboratory-based research on the role of IL-27 in immunity to murine
malaria

Conduct their work in accordance with the Department of Infectious Diseases’
policies on Good Scientific Practice and Laboratory Safety

Possess or obtain a personal Home Office (Animals: Scientific Procedures) license

Keep up to date with the scientific literature, in particular in immunology and malaria
research

Regularly attend and present their work at lab group meetings, Unit seminars and
national or international conferences

Attend staff development courses in computing skills, personal development and
laboratory safety as required

Assist with training of staff, students and visiting workers in the laboratory

Other duties as reasonably requested by the PI, Head of Unit or Head of Department
Person Specification
Essential
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A PhD in immunology or a directly related discipline
Proven laboratory-based research experience in immunology, parasitology or a
directly related discipline
Personal Home Office Licence and prior experience of working with laboratory
animals
Meticulous approach to recording of data, protocols and daily activities
Good data management skills and advanced computer literacy
Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage your own work load
and to work as part of a team
Proven communication skills and an ability to develop those skills in a
multicultural environment
Flexible approach to job description and working hours
Open and friendly personality
Desirable

Prior experience of cell culture, flow cytometry, flow-based cell sorting, confocal
imaging and molecular biology
4.
ACCOUNTABILITY
The post holder will be located within the Immunology Unit at LSHTM under the
supervision of Professor Eleanor Riley.
5.
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The appointment will commence on the 1st December 2009 and is currently funded for 1
year and 9 months. The appointment will be made on the Academic Pathway Grade 6
pay scale at a salary of £35,194 per annum. The post will be subject to the LSHTM
terms and conditions of service. Membership of the USS pension scheme is available.
The School's retirement date is 30 September following the 65th birthday. It is the
School's policy not to appoint candidates aged 65 or over.
The person appointed will be entitled to 30 days holiday plus an additional 6 fixed-date
Director’s Days. A pension scheme and interest free season ticket loan are available.
The School is conveniently situated for public transport (Goodge Street, Russell Square,
Euston Square and Tottenham Court Road tube stations nearby). The School has a
restaurant, bar and common room. The School has a no smoking policy and an Equal
Opportunities Policy.
6.
HOW TO APPLY
We encourage you to apply for this post online at our website jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The
reference for this post will be EMR09. Online applications will be accepted by the
automated system until midnight on Friday 9th October 2009.
Applications should also include a CV, a covering letter and the names and email
addresses of 2 referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted.
If you are unable to apply online, please contact us at jobs@lshtm.ac.uk or telephone
020 7927 2201.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and
training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs
addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection
process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will
not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as “Please see attached CV”
will not be considered acceptable.
Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it
may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.”