Application closing date 01/03/2021
Salary £33,797 per annum.
Job category/type Research
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Job description

We are recruiting for a Research Fellow in SARS-CoV-2 who will be an active member of a research team led by Dr Fuquan Liu developing scFv antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The successful candidate will be in charge of constructing and panning of scFv-displaying phage libraries, characterizing enriched phage clones for interaction with SARS-CoV-2 proteins, sub-cloning and expressing scFv proteins in yeast cell, purifying the scFv proteins and test the activity of the purified scFv proteins in recognising SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The post-holder will also be involved in in vitro mutagenesis of scFv clones in order to further increase binding affinity of the antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The post-holder will in charge of supply the scFv phage and purified scFv proteins to other labs of the team to test impact on SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The successful candidate will also be supported by the Faculty Postdoctoral Development Centre as part of a wider Queen’s offering which provides outstanding support to researchers. 

The successful candidate must have:

• Have or be about to obtain a PhD in molecular biology, or related research area.
• At least 3 years’ relevant research experience
• Recent relevant experience in molecular biology including molecular cloning, qPCR and protein purification.
• Experience in Molecular cloning and protein biochemistry.

This post is available until 2 July 2021.

The School of Biological Sciences is part of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.  It is made up of three research disciplines: Ecosystems Biology & Sustainability, Food Safety & Nutrition, and Microbes & Pathogen Biology. 

The School aims to enhance the way we use technology in research, food security, microbiology, ecosystem biology, sustainability and many other related areas. The School provides research programmes in areas spanning from basic biochemistry with applications in e.g. cancer research, all the way to the economic evaluation of ecosystem services and the retailing of food. We host a cutting edge scientific research team and contribute to genuine new discoveries and the development of new methods of practical use.  Many staff within the School are also members of the Institute for Global Food Security GRI: the Institute is ranked No 1 in the UK for research intensity in Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Sciences (REF 2014). 

The Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) is one of four Global Research Institutes at Queen's and was established to address a key, international challenge, the future of the world's food systems.  Food and drink have become a global industry with many positive aspects - access, affordability, variety. Yet that industry is also faced with a number of conundrums:

• Soon there may not be enough food to feed a growing population
• The integrity of increasingly complex food supply chains is often compromised
• Deliberate food fraud is a growing crime
• Climate change throws up complications for the future of agriculture. 

Queen’s University Belfast is a driver of innovation and talent based on excellence. Throughout the University, our academics collaborate across disciplines and with outside agencies and institutions on projects of world significance. We are connected and networked with strategic partnerships across the world, helping us to expand our impact on wider society locally, nationally and globally. The University is committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

We are a leader in gender equality and diversity, and are one of the UK’s most successful universities in the Athena SWAN initiative which promotes gender equality and career progression. The University holds an Athena SWAN Silver award and the School of Biological Sciences holds an Athena SWAN Gold Award in recognition of our work to support women in Science commitment and success in addressing gender equality, representation, progression and success for all our staff.

We are ranked 1st in the UK for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (Innovate UK), 9th in the UK for University facilities (Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018) and 14th in the UK for research quality (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019).

Based in Belfast, a modern capital city, our beautiful campus is surrounded by abundant acres of parkland and is renowned as one of the safest and most affordable cities in the UK. There is an excellent range of local Schools from pre-nursery upwards and we are immensely proud of what our city and our University will offer you.

For full job details and essential/desirable criteria please refer to the candidate information link on our website by clicking apply.  You must clearly demonstrate how you meet the criteria when you submit your application. For further information or assistance contact Resourcing Team via email on resourcing@qub.ac.uk. 

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding

Please note on this occasion the University is unable to provide sponsorship for visa applicants for this particular post, as such applicants must hold the right to work in the UK to be eligible.

The University is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all. However, our employment monitoring data tells us that individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, people with a disability and those who identify as LGBT+ are currently under-represented at the University. Also Protestants are currently under-represented in this category of work. As such, we particularly welcome applications from these individuals.

As you may be aware, Queen’s is recognised as one of the most diverse organisations in Northern Ireland. We are committed to ensuring our workplace is a safe, welcoming and inclusive place to work, which is why we subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena SWAN.

It is also why we have established award winning Staff Networks such as PRISM and iRise. These networks provide an opportunity for staff to meet in a friendly, informal way to support each other.  More details on all our networks can be found here. 

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