Overview
UK DRI Research Assistant – INTERNAL ONLY – Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY
About us
Dementia is one of the greatest health challenge of our century. To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of the diseases that cause it.
The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative driving forward research to fill this gap.
We are a globally leading multidisciplinary research institute of 850 staff investigating the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders causing dementia, with laboratory-based research groups located at University College London, the University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, Edinburgh University, Imperial College London, and King’s College London.
Researchers at the UK DRI at King’s use innovative approaches to explore the biological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Their goal is to defeat dementia by uncovering vital new knowledge that will lead to the design of smarter diagnostics and effective treatments. The team aim to understand the fundamental biological processes involved in dementia at a molecular level – and to use that knowledge to design new ways to diagnose and treat disease more precisely.
About the role
Join the forefront of dementia research at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King’s College London, where our vibrant and interdisciplinary research community is dedicated to unravelling the complexities of with the most common types of motor neuron disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal dementia.
As part of the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, the UK DRI at King’s focuses on innovative cellular, molecular, and computational research to advance our understanding of neurodegeneration.
The group of Dr Sarah Marzi is seeking a highly motivated and skilled bioinformatics research assistant. The successful candidate will play a key role in projects focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, with a particular emphasis on analysing long-read RNA sequencing data for transcript splicing analysis, as well as epigenetic data analysis.
Dr Marzi’s group aims to determine the role of epigenetic regulation in neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, using state of the art epigenetic and genomic techniques in cell populations and at the single cell level. Specifically, we seek to identify an epigenetic link between non-coding genetic and environmental risk in dementia and identify mechanisms by which these risk factors make cells susceptible to neurodegeneration.
Some of the key skills involved include;
- Processing Genomics sequencing data and undertaking quality control
- Statistical analysis of epigenetic and transcriptional data
- To conduct high quality research under the supervision of Sarah Marzi, and in collaboration with other members of the Marzi group.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties that may be requested by the PI.
- To present findings in regular group meetings to the PI and colleagues.
This is a full- timepost (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30/09/26. Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
- MSc in Genomics or related discipline
- Demonstrable expertise in using High-Performance Computing (HPC) Unix/Linux environments and the SLURM workload manager.
- Proven experience with Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long-read sequencing data analysis and differential splicing analysis.
- Programming skills in R.
- Knowledge of basic neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and ALS
- Ability to work with version control systems, i.e., Git and GitH
Desirable criteria
- An interest in the mission and research of the UK Dementia Research Institute
Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
