Research Associate in Molecular Virology

Job number

**MED05247**
- Faculties

**Faculty of Medicine**
- Departments

**Department of Infectious Disease**
- 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

**16 Jun 2025**

**About the role**:
The Sheppard Lab, within the Department of Infectious Disease, is excited to invite a highly motivated and technically skilled postdoctoral researcher to join our team. In this role, you will be at the cutting edge of host-pathogen interaction research, investigating how host proteins influence influenza virus infection.

This MRC-funded position offers the opportunity to dive deep into the structure-function characterisation of critical host-virus interactions that regulate the influenza RNA polymerase, shaping the intricate processes of viral transcription and genome replication. You will contribute to a transformative project aiming to uncover key proviral and restriction factors, decipher their molecular mechanisms and ultimately harness this knowledge to inform the design of next-generation antiviral strategies.

**What you would be doing**:
In this dynamic project, you will employ a pioneering proximity proteomics approach to map the full repertoire of host proteins interacting with the influenza RNA polymerase. This innovative work will be carried out in close collaboration with our partners at King’s College London, bringing together complementary strengths in virology and proteomics within a forward-thinking framework.

You will lead the development and optimisation of a systematic workflow to identify, validate, and conduct a bioinformatic analyses of host factors that regulate polymerase function across diverse influenza subtypes. The ultimate goal is to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which key host proteins modulate viral transcription and genome replication. To achieve this, you will employ a powerful multidisciplinary toolkit - including gene editing, functional and binding reporter assays, viral growth kinetics and cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS).

Your detailed structure-function characterisation of the most influential virulence factors will feed directly into translational efforts within the lab and in collaboration with the Barclay lab, aimed at exploiting our deep mechanistic understanding of host-virus interactions for the rational development of novel antiviral therapeutics.

**What we are looking for**:

- Highly skilled researcher with a PhD and strong background in molecular virology and/or host-pathogen interactions.
- Practical experience in a broad range of techniques such as cell culture, molecular cloning, viral rescue/growth, gene-silencing, PPIs and mass-spectrometry.
- Able to independently design and execute experiments, interpret data and identify follow-up strategies.
- Proactive, detail-oriented scientist with a collaborative mindset and open approach to problem solving.
- Proven track record of scientific achievement, including scientific publication and/or presentations at conferences.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly and effectively, for diverse audiences including collaborators, peer-reviewed journals, and international conferences.

**What we can offer you**:

- A collaborative, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating lab environment that values both scientific rigour and team cohesion.
- Access to cutting-edge facilities, including CL2/CL3 tissue culture suites, advanced proteomics platforms and flow cytometry (FACS) systems.
- Opportunities for interdisciplinary research through close working relationships across virology, immunology and systems biology with leading groups including the Barclay, Martin-Sancho, Thorne, Maertens, and White labs.
- Opportunities to attend national and international conferences to showcase your work and enhance your academic network.
- Mentorship in grant writing and career development.
- 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).

Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing

**Further information**:
This is a full time and a fixed-term (3 years) based at the South Kensington Campus.

**Available documents**:

- Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.- 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.

**Abo