Research Associate in Molecular Virology

Overview

In this role you will advance our understanding of how influenza viruses cross species barriers by studying early intracellular events that enable replication in new hosts. You will work within a team dedicated to deciphering host factors that influence influenza A polymerase function in the nucleus, using bioinformatics and molecular virology techniques. You will validate candidate host factors through gene knockdown and assess impacts on replication, with imaging and RNP interaction analyses. The position offers the chance to contribute to pandemic preparedness in a world‑leading lab.

Pay / Benefits

• career development support
• 10 development days
• 41 days off per year
• generous pension schemes
• opportunity to advance at a world-leading institution
• diverse and inclusive culture

Responsibilities

• Validate roles of novel host factors linked to influenza A polymerase in host nucleus
• Knock down factor expression and assess effects on virus replication
• Examine colocalization of host factors with viral polymerase in situ
• Compare interactions of host factors with RNPs assembled from viral RNA
• Combine bioinformatics analyses with molecular virology workflows

Key requirements

• Experience working with viruses in mammalian cell systems
• Proficiency with CRISPR and genetic manipulation in cells (desirable)
• Experience with primary cell systems (desirable)
• Ability to handle large data sets (desirable)
• Experience with AlphaFold and bioinformatics tools (desirable)

• team-oriented
• collaborative
• strong communication
• molecular virology techniques
• CRISPR gene editing
• bioinformatics

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