Research Assistant

About the role

Moredun Scientific (a commercial subsidiary of the Moredun Foundation, a registered charity) is an established contract research organisation specialising in animal health and aquaculture veterinary medicinal product development.

Moredun Research Institute (a subsidiary of the Moredun Foundation) is an independent research organisation conducting world class scientific research to improve livestock health and welfare through the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and conscientious individual to join the Moredun Research Institute’s Immunology group involved in the development and testing of a Streptococcus suis vaccine candidate in collaboration with Moredun Scientific. The objective of the role is to determine the mechanism of vaccine protection including bactericidal antibody and the potential role of macrophages and/or T cells following vaccination. If results indicate the absence of bactericidal antibody in serum of vaccinates or data supporting a role for macrophages, alternative hypotheses’ will be tested including the role of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) in controlling S. suis infection.

This post will be based at Pentlands Science Park, near Edinburgh.

Experience required

You will have:

A minimum of HND in Biological Sciences or equivalent. Knowledge of biochemistry, immunochemistry, analysing antibody responses in mammals and a basic knowledge of mammalian immunology. General knowledge of mammalian cellular immunology Experience of working in a diagnostic or research environment.

Experience of testing for the induction of bactericidal antibody following vaccination of pigs, developing monoclonal antibody reagents and testing antibody responses to bacterial diseases is desirable.

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