LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
Research Assistant, Immunology Unit – GB1
FURTHER PARTICULARS
ADVERTISEMENT
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is seeking to appoint a Research
Assistant to work on a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to analyse
protective immunity against tuberculosis.
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 Immunology Unit conducts research on major infectious diseases of public health
importance world-wide, including malaria, helminthiasis and tuberculosis.
The successful applicant will be well organised with the ability to adopt a precise and
systematic approach. They should have the ability to communicate and work well within
a laboratory community. Excellent data recording skills and advanced computer literacy
are essential.
The Research Assistant will be appointed as a full-time post on the Academic Pathway
Grade 5 pay scale at a starting salary of £30,639 per annum. The post is available from
1st February 2010 for a duration of one year.
Applications should be made on-line via our website http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk.
The reference for this post is GB01. Any queries regarding the application process may
be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk quoting the reference number GB01. Closing date
for applications is Monday 18th January 2010.
"The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.”
LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
DEPARTMENT OF INFECTIOUS AND TROPICAL DISEASES
IMMUNOLOGY UNIT APPOINTMENT
FURTHER PARTICULARS
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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.
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 7500 Fast 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.
Tuberculosis Research
The iTB consortium funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Drug Accelerator
program investigates novel imaging technologies and genetically tagged reporter
bacteria to monitor infection. New antibiotics to treat tuberculosis faster and more
effectively are urgently needed. For this endeavour, we combine IVIS and fluorescent
molecular tomography (FMT) imaging methods with novel fluorescent/luminescent M.
tuberculosis reporter strains. The additional goal is to combine the reporter genes with
sensors/promoters which probe aspects of the mycobacterial in vivo environment such
as iron status, pH, hypoxia and stresses related to anti-tuberculosis drugs such as
isoniazid. Measuring these parameters in real time during infection, using the infectious
agent as a probe, will give insight into the pathogen’s response to drug pressure. These
innovative techniques will facilitate the development of novel anti-mycobacterial drugs
and provide new and important knowledge on the biology of tuberculosis and its
treatment.
Job Description
The successful candidate will work in the Immunology Unit of the Department of
Infectious and Tropical Diseases. She/he will be responsible to Dr Gregory Bancroft (the
Principal Investigator ), Dr Theresa Ward (Co-Investigator) and to the Head of
Immunology Unit (Professor Eleanor Riley).
Post:
Research Assistant
Grade:
Academic Pathway Grade 5
Responsible to:
Dr Gregory Bancroft, Principal Investigator on the Project,
Dr Theresa Ward (Coinvestigator) and the Head of the
Immunology Unit (currently Professor Eleanor Riley)
Unit:
Immunology
Start date:
1st February 2010
Duration:
One year
Hours of work:
35 hours
Job Description
In vivo imaging of mycobacteria under drug treatment;
Maintain and manage in vivo imaging equipment;
Maintain Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, frozen stocks, records of passages and
inocula;
In vitro trafficking assays of mycobacteria within cultured cells by microscopy;
Record all experimental details and results; analyse and prepare confidential reports of
results;
Observe School and Departmental Safety Guidelines relating to good laboratory
practices and the handling of pathogenic materials;
Keep up to date with scientific progress, in particular in tuberculosis, myeloid cell and
cytokine research, to enable full participation in the project;
Attend necessary courses in aseptic techniques, computer skills and handling of
radioactive substances, to enable full participation in the project;
Assist with teaching of students and visiting workers in the laboratory;
Liaise with the postdoc on the project and other members of the group and the unit;
Advise Drs. Gregory Bancroft and Theresa Ward on workload and carry out duties and
responsibilities as requested.
Essential qualifications
A first degree (2.1 minimum) or diploma in a relevant subject (immunology, cell biology,
or other closely related biological subject)
A proven interest in infection-immunology research
Experience in tissue culture, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, cytokine, lipid
biochemistry, immunohistology and/or RNA work
An excellent and meticulous approach to recording of data, protocols and daily activities
Advanced computer literacy
Proven ability to manage own workload
Proven ability to work as part of a team
A flexible approach to working hours
Precise and systematic approach
Proven communication skills and an ability to develop those skills in a multicultural
environment
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience:
To be a holder of a Personal Home Office License
MSc or diploma in biology, biochemistry or immunology.
Experience in infection biology of intracellular bacteria.
Experience in working with Cat3 microorganisms.
Details of Project
The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study tuberculosis by in
vivo imaging of M. tuberculosis upon drug treatment.
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The appointment is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and will commence
on the 1st February 2010 and is available for 1 year. The appointment will be made on
the Academic Pathway Grade 5 pay scale at a salary of £30,639 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.
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 GB01. Online applications will be accepted by the
automated system until midnight on Monday 18th January 2010.
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.
Interviews will be held on Monday 1st February 2010.
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.”