Senior Research Technician

About the Group

You will join the Naish group in the School of Life Sciences at Warwick University. The candidate will work in a dynamic team of scientists and collaborate with group members to make discoveries. Regular opportunities will be provided for presentation of the candidate's work, together with regular career-mentoring. The Naish lab shares space with the groups of Prof. Miriam Gifford, Vardis Ntoukakis and Jose Gutierrez-Marcos, who research related questions in plant epigenetics.

Any requests for further information about the role can be directed to Matthew Naish (m.naish.1@warwick.ac.uk)

The laboratory is situated in SLS on the Gibbet hill campus in UoW and houses state-of-the-art facilities. The University of Warwick is also a major centre for both plant science, and genomics, providing extensive opportunities for collaboration and presentation of research findings and further career development and growth.

Note: Please note this is an on-campus based role, due to the nature of the work, we cannot accommodate any work from home basis 

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the job description (link here).

About the Role

We're looking for an enthusiastic research technician with molecular biology skills to join a small team studying centromere biology. how the region of the chromosome that drives its own inheritance is specified, and why it varies so much between and within species. You would support two projects: a Wellcome-funded investigation of how genetic and epigenetic variation influences centromere function in Arabidopsis thaliana, and a UKRI-funded project exploring alternative centromere structures in marine plankton.

You would work closely with postdoctoral researchers and PhD students and would be recognised as a contributor on the work you support. The ideal candidate would have competency in a range of multidisciplinary molecular biology techniques in the lab including cloning (PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, restriction digests and ligation, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation and culture, plasmid prep), and routine genotyping from sample collection through gDNA extraction to PCR, genetic transformations, Nanopore Sequencing, as well as general plant husbandry and plankton cell culture maintenance.

The post is available for two years in the first instance, with the possibility of further extension.

About You

We are looking for someone to provide technical support to post-doctoral research staff and principal investigator undertaking research projects. The successful candidate will be required to perform various routine and higher-level molecular biology techniques in the lab including cloning (PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, restriction reactions, ligation reactions, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation and culture, plasmid purification, and Sanger sequencing), genotyping (collecting material, genomic DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis), genetic transformations, Nanopore Sequencing, as well as general plant husbandry and maintenance of plankton cell cultures. 

About the Department

School of Life Sciences

For further information about the School of Life Sciences please see our website at

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci

We believe that collegiality, openness, inclusivity and diversity are essential for an excellent research and teaching environment. Our workplace ethic has enabled us to gain the Athena SWAN Silver award. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourage applications from all groups with protected characteristics traditionally under-represented in STEM fields. As part of our ongoing commitment to addressing gender equality under the Athena Swan chartermark, we would particularly encourage and welcome applications from female academics.

How to Apply

To apply please complete your essential personal details and attach a CV and cover letter on or before the closing date.

We will review applications throughout the advertising period and may contact shortlisted candidates before the closing date. We therefore encourage interested applicants to submit their application as early as possible. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient number of suitable applications.

Applications should include a CV and a covering letter expressing the reasons for your interest in this post. Within this information you should demonstrate how you meet the requirements of this role by specific reference to each of the essential, and where applicable, desirable criteria detailed in the person specification.  This information will be used in the shortlisting process and without this evidence we may not be able to shortlist your application.