Research Associate

Job number

**MED05008**
- Faculties

**Faculty of Medicine**
- Salary or Salary range

**£48,056 - £56,345 per annum**
- Location/campus

**South Kensington Campus - On site only**
- Contract type work pattern

**Full time - Fixed term**
- Posting End Date

**8 Jan 2025**

**About the role**:
Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate (post-doctoral researcher) in the Section of Virology within the Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London. We recently moved to the South Kensington campus into completely refurbished labs

This project is part of the research programme funded by the Medical Research Council on “Linking the HTLV-1 pre-integration complex to the chromatin” and is led by Prof Goedele N. Maertens.

**What you would be doing**:
Human immunodeficiency virus and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) are the most notorious retroviruses since they are the cause of severe, disabling and sometimes fatal diseases. Ten to 20 million people worldwide are infected with HTLV-1. Of these individuals, about 10% will become ill. The most severe HTLV-1 induced diseases are a neurological inflammatory disease and an aggressive form of leukaemia-lymphoma. So far, no good treatments of HTLV-1 infected patients are available. Patients diagnosed with leukaemia typically die within two years of presentation.

One essential step in the life cycle of retroviruses, such as HTLV-1, is the insertion of a copy of the viral genome into the host DNA. This process is executed by the viral integrase protein. We recently identified a host factor for HTLV-1 integration, PP2A-B56 (Maertens, G.N. NAR 2016; Barski, M.S. et al Nat. Comms, 2020). This current project focuses on structurally and functionally characterizing the interaction and mechanics of how PP2A-B56 and its binding partners and substrates contribute to establishing HTLV-1 infection and integration site selection.

You will contribute to characterising the role and mechanism of host factors in HTLV integration. We use a variety of techniques in the lab (ranging from molecular and biochemical techniques, NGS, Crispr/Cas technology, RNA/DNAscope). The focus of your research will be to map and characterize interactions between retroviral proteins and the host using protein biochemistry assays, X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM. You will be in an excellent position to carry out research in the competitive field of retrovirology.

**What we are looking for**:

- You will have an excellent attention to detail and good organisational skills.
- You can work independently while productively interacting with the rest of the group.
- You are an independent thinker and have a drive to succeed.
- You will have good interpersonal and presentation skills and will assist to the well running and organisation of the lab, and also be required to train/assist other members of the laboratory.
- In addition, you will be expected to write and contribute to papers that will be submitted to refereed journals

**What we can offer you**:

- The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
- Grow your career: Gain access to Imperial’s sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression
- Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes).

**Further information**:
This is a full time and a fixed term role until December 2027 based at the South Kensington Campus.

**Available documents**:

- Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.
- Download: Research Associate Job Description.Pdf
- Download: Employee Benefits Booklet.Pdf

- Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

**About Imperial**:
Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.

Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial College London.

**Our Culture**:
Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.