Research Associate; RNA Biology

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world‑class university. We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Find out more about our benefits and join us to become part of something special.

Do you have a passion for RNA, gene‑regulation and development? The Sudbery and Wilson laboratories in the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield wish to recruit a postdoctoral researcher to work on a Leverhulme funded project analysing how splicing in the 3’ UTR of genes can regulate their developmental dynamics. The project will involve using both the latest molecular and computational techniques to investigate how splicing might affect RNA stability dynamics across development.

You will use CRISPR engineered cell lines carrying degron tags for key proteins to dissect the molecular mechanisms in this process. You will use second and third generation DNA sequencing technologies and other molecular and cell biology approaches in the project. You will develop new bioinformatic pipelines to analyse the results of these experiments, as well as making the analytic approaches available to the community.

• Take primary responsibility for an agreed program of research, in collaboration with other members of the team.
• Generate new hypotheses and design appropriate experiments to achieve the objectives of the research project and execute the wet‑lab experiments.
• Undertake computation analysis as required.
• Discuss the required experiments and work with the research team and agree on a strategy to complete the planned work.
• Keep appropriate records of all work carried out.
• Interact with and help supervise junior members of the research team.
• Prepare papers for journals / presentations in‑house or at national and international conferences or seminars to disseminate research findings.
• Write supporting documents (such as protocols, reports, etc.) to support the research group and carry out our administrative roles as required.
• Provide support to other members of the research team in the same laboratory in a related field of research.
• Read academic papers, journals and textbooks and attend conferences to keep abreast of developments.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

• Essential: A PhD (or be close to completion/have equivalent post‑doctoral level work experience) in Biochemistry, Genetics or Molecular biology.
• Essential: Proven knowledge of, and a track record of research in UTR biology and RNA stability.
• Essential: Experience of standard Molecular Biology experimental techniques, such as PCR and molecular cloning.
• Essential: Experience with analysing data from high‑throughput sequencing experiments, including analytic pipelines, and the development of novel statistical analyses.
• Essential: Ability to assess and organise resources, and plan and progress work.
• Essential: Experience of working as part of a collaborative team.
• Essential: Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, report writing skills, experience of delivering presentations.
• Essential: Ability to manage an independent original research project.
• Essential: Experience of experimental techniques specifically relevant to the study of UTRs and RNA stability, including mammalian cell culture, and genome‑wide RNA stability measurements such as SLAM‑seq.