Postdoctoral Training Fellow

THE GROUP

Dr Frickel's laboratory focuses on elucidating the immune mechanisms targeting the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, as well as deciphering pathways mediated by immune-activated large GTPases. Dr Frickel is seeking a talented and motivated postdoc to further develop this study in human stem cell-derived macrophages and dendritic cells, as a complement to studying these pathways in conventional macrophage cell lines.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii causes the production of the cytokine gamma interferon (IFNg) that in turn leads to the upregulation of a multitude of host defence pathways. Specifically, the lab is interested in ubiquitin-mediated pathogen control (Clough et al, 2016, PLoS Pathogens) and restriction of pathogens by guanylate binding proteins (Johnston et al, 2016, Cellular Microbiology). We are now looking to extend these findings to macrophages as these present the most relevant cell type for Toxoplasma and other infectious agents. We have generated iPSC-derived macrophages as a tool to study IFNg-dependent host defence mechanisms. This project will examine how relevant ubiquitin-mediated pathways are to Toxoplasma control in these macrophages and/or how guanylate binding proteins mediate immune defences.

ABOUT US

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King's College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a brand new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under a single roof in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; to developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; to public engagement; and to helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values: Bold, Imaginative, Open, Dynamic and Collegial, in addition to the following:

Essential

• PhD in relevant subject area or in the final stages of PhD submission
• Ability to define and solve research questions
• Pro-active in innovation and problem solving
• Track record of writing papers as evidenced by publications or submitted manuscripts in referred journals
• Proven experience of data presentation at scientific meetings
• Ability to work with minimal supervision using own initiative to organise and prioritise own work
• Ability to work well in a team is essential including willingness to share knowledge and expertise for the benefit of others
• Ability to contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis both in the lab and with external collaborators
• Potential to guide PhD students in their research
• Technical expertise in either of the following is required: 1) human stem cell culturing (hES or iPS) and/or 2) High throughput microscopy assays

Postdoctoral Training Fellows are expected to lead their own projects, contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis (both in the lab and with external collaborators) and guide PhD students in their research. The ability to work in a team is essential.