The Aitken lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit is seeking to appoint a highly collaborative Research Associate (postdoc) to join their team working on the molecular and phenotypic consequences of DNA damage. The project will investigate mutagenesis in the context of gastrointestinal and liver disease/cancer, with a specific focus on disease initiation and mechanisms of progression.
The Aitken Lab is a diverse team of researchers spanning multiple scientific disciplines, including cancer biology, genomics, digital pathology, mathematical modelling, and bioinformatics. We are looking for a postdoctoral molecular biologist with experience in genome biology and genomics to join us.
The overall aim of our interdisciplinary research group is to investigate mechanisms of cellular damage, and to understand their consequences for human health and disease. We use experimental and computational approaches to study genomic, cellular, and tissue-level responses to injury, and aim to identify molecular mechanisms which are dysregulated in disease, including cancer.
The successful candidate will have, or be in the final stages of obtaining, a PhD in a relevant field (biomedicine, biology, bioinformatics, medicine, or equivalent), and experience with a range of molecular biology, library preparation, and genomics techniques; computational experience is highly desirable. We are particularly interested in candidates with experience working with human tissue and cell lines. Enthusiasm to develop and apply spatial transcriptomics/genomics would be advantageous. Candidates are expected to have excellent communication, organisational, and problem-solving skills, as well as creativity, curiosity, and aptitude to work both independently and contribute intellectually to other projects developed in the laboratory.
The MRC Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution based at the University of Cambridge, focused on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease. The Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including histopathology, microscopy, proteomics, and bioinformatics, and offers excellent opportunities for scientific career development.
Relevant publications:
1. CJ Anderson, L Talmane, J Luft, SJ Aitken*, MS Taylor*. Strand-resolved mutagenicity of DNA damage and repair. bioRxiv. 2022; 2022.06.10.495644.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.10.495644v1 2. SWK Ng, FJ Rouhani, SF Brunner, N Brzozowska, SJ Aitken, M Yang, et al. Convergent somatic mutations in metabolism genes in chronic liver disease. Nature. 2021;598:473-478.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03974-6 3. SJ Aitken, CJ Anderson, F Connor, O Pich, V Sundaram, C Feig, et al. Pervasive lesion segregation shapes cancer genome evolution. Nature. 2020;583:265-270.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2435-1 4. SF Brunner, ND Roberts, LA Wylie, L Moore, SJ Aitken, SE Davies, et al. Somatic mutations and clonal dynamics in healthy and cirrhotic human liver. Nature. 2019;574:538-542.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1670-9 5. SJ Aitken**, X Ibarra-Sor¬ia**, E Kentepozidou, P Flicek, C Feig, JC Marioni, et al. CTCF maintains regulatory homeostasis of cancer pathways. Genome Biology. 2018;19:106.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-018-1484-3 Appointment at Research Associate is dependent on having a PhD. Where a PhD has yet to be awarded or submitted, appointment will initially be made as a Research Assistant and amended to Research Associate when the PhD is awarded.
Fixed-term: The funds for this position is available for 2 years in the first instance.
