Job Description
Job title:
Research Associate
Grade:
Level B, Research and Education Job Family
Department:
Department of Materials and London Centre for
Nanotechnology
Reporting to:
Dr Alexandra Porter, Professor David McComb, Dr
Matthew Harris (FEI), Dr Jeremy Skepper (Cambridge
University)
Liaison with:
Academic and Research Staff and Postgraduate
Students
Key Working Relationships
Liaise with external collaborators and industrial partner
Summary of the post:
Cell culturing and toxicity assays, biological sample
preparation and TEM studies of exposed cells.
Purpose of the Post:
This post is based at the Department of Materials and the London Centre for
Nanotechnology (LCN) in a collaborative project with FEI. The project is aimed at developing
analytical electron microscopy on the Titan Electron Microscope as a novel technique to
assess the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles.
Key Responsibilities:
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To expose and culture cells
Prepare TEM specimens of the exposed cells using freeze-substitution and room
temperature ultramicrotomy
To perform analytical electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy
(EELS), energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) and aberration
corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy experiments
To perform image processing of EM data sets (using IDL and Digital Micrograph
software packages)
Collaborate with academic colleagues in the project
Collaborate, attend meetings and report to industrial partners at FEI
Prepare articles for publication and present papers at conferences
Work well within a dynamic group of students and Research Associates
To perform other reasonable tasks related to the furtherance of the project aims
To provide general assistance from time to time with other research related activities
To liaise with the other research staff and students working in broad areas of
relevance to the research project
To write progress reports and prepare results for publication and dissemination via
journals, presentations and the web
To attend progress and management meetings as required and network with the
other research groups
To comply with relevant College policies, including Financial Regulations, Equal
Opportunities Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy, Health and Safety Policy,
Information Systems Security Policy and Intellectual Property Rights and Register of
Interests Policies
Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive; the post holder may be required to undertake other
duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.
Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and of eliminating
discrimination. All employees are expected to adhere to the principles set out in its
Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy, Promoting Race Equality policy and
Disability Policy and all other relevant guidance/practice frameworks.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Applications are required to demonstrate that they possess the following attributes:
Qualifications:
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A PhD (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Materials Science
Experience and Knowledge:
 Strong background in analytical EM and high resolution EM
 In addition, an interest or background in one of the following: nanomaterial
characterisation, confocal microscopy, nanomaterials processing, toxicity assays.
 Knowledge of safe working practices in laboratories
Desirable
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A strong background in biological sample preparation for transmission electron
microscopy
Experience in cell culture
Skills and Abilities:
 Excellent communication and organisational skills.
 A demonstrated ability for innovation and original research.
 Good multi-tasking abilities.
Ability to exercise initiative and judgment in carrying out research tasks.
 Ability to write clearly and concisely to a level consistent with publication in highly
regarded international journals.
 Ability to relate appropriately to others and to work as part of a team.
 Ability to tackle a wide variety of tasks.
 Analytical skills.
 Good computer literacy including data-bases, spread sheets and statistical analysis.
 Ability to relate to other researchers, and students in an academic context.
 Ability to present themselves at conferences and seminars with authority and
coherence.
 Ability to organise and prioritise own work with minimal supervision.