Research Assistant – Cell Biology (Contractor)

The opportunity

Relation is offering an exciting opportunity for a Research Assistant with a background in Cell Biology to join an established team that are running perturbation screens to help drive novel target identification for drugs to cure complex human diseases. We are looking for a scientist with hands-on experience in functional genomics, phenotypic assays, data collection, analysis and interpretation.

In this role, you will be at the forefront of scientific discovery and make a meaningful impact in the field of biology, working at the intersection of science and technology within a rapidly growing TechBio company. You will partner closely with colleagues across Discovery, have the opportunity to develop your skills to work independently and advance your knowledge-base on assay development and optimisation.

Day to day, you will

• Contribute to the design and execution of cellular and biochemical assays to support ongoing projects, including screening in established cell models and running phenotypic readouts

• Growth and maintenance of primary and immortalised mammalian cell lines, taking responsibility for sample tracking and quality control (QC).

• Assistance in management of reagent stock levels, equipment maintenance, laboratory upkeeping, and adherence to good laboratory practice.

• Carrying out data analysis and relevant quality assurance protocols during the running of routine protocols

• Communicate outcomes of your work to team members of the project and the broader company in written or verbal reports.

• Proactive identification and timely communication of potential project concerns to senior project team members

• Actively contribute to ideas of new technologies, workflows, and operational infrastructure.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional colleagues across biological and computational sciences and assist with solving complex scientific challenges and accelerate programme delivery

Professionally, you will have

• Bachelor and/or Master's degree in a Biological Science.

• Prior wet-lab experience working within academic, biotech, pharmaceutical or CRO environments

• Strong practical experience in cell culture techniques including cell line generation and maintenance.

• Experience in running arrayed genetic perturbation screens using CRISPR

• Capability to run cell and molecular biological assays to characterise cell phenotype e.g. nucleic acids extraction, flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, ELISA etc.

• Competence in data handling, curve-fitting and statistical analysis

• Experience in industry-standard recording keeping

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to thrive in a collaborative, cross-functional, matrixed environment

• High motivation, scientific rigor and be able to comfortably operate in a fast-paced, evolving biotech setting

Bonus experience

• Experience with fibroblast, endothelial and/or epithelial primary cell lines

• Prior use of ‘Walk up’ automated laboratory systems (e.g. liquid handling)

• Hands-on experience with high-content imaging instrumentation and software.

• A working knowledge of multicellular models

• Experience in contributing to a multi-party collaborative project