Location : Oxford Road, Manchester
Closing Date : 18/03/2019
Salary : £27,025 to £29,515 per annum according to relevant experience.
Employment Type : Fixed Term
Faculty / Organisational Unit : Biology, Medicine & Health
Division : Cancer Sciences
Hours Per week : Full time
Contract Duration : From as soon as possible for 12 months

This is a fantastic opportunity to take part in a new and innovative project to develop a novel biomedical imaging platform that could change the way we manage endometrial cancer, specifically by improving risk prediction for development of endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer (EC), of all cancers, has the strongest association with obesity, estimated to account for 60% of new cases, as a consequence of which the incidence of EC is rising sharply in post-menopausal women. Outcome is much improved with early detection, leading to high numbers of women with post-menopausal bleeding (PMB), the main symptom of EC, undergoing endometrial biopsy to determine if early cancer is present. However, negative biopsy does not preclude development of EC at a later date, leading to high degree of uncertainty for those with negative biopsies. Colleagues at St Mary’s Hospital Manchester have developed a prototype biomarker method for prediction of future risk of EC in women with negative biopsies, measuring the expression of 4 cell markers in endometrial biopsies. At present each of these markers is measured independently but it would be advantageous to measure them simultaneously. This requires a multiplex approach which this project seeks to develop and test. Specifically we have developed novel fluorescent tags for antibodies which will allow the 4 biomarkers to be measured simultaneously in endometrial biopsies and this project seeks to optimise their use in prediction of risk of EC in negative endometrial biopsies. This will require optimisation of antibody / fluorescent tag conjugation, multiplex staining and imaging, and analysis of biomarker expression and correlation with clinical parameters. The end product will be a validated semi-automated method for risk prediction of EC in post-menopausal women. This is a large and growing public health problem, whilst methods developed will also be transferable to cancer diagnosis across all cancers. This post is a SBRI award to Chromition and provides the opportunity to work within our existing team of clinicians, biomedical and computer scientists.

We are looking for an experienced biomedical research technician with experience of histology and immunohistochemistry, and with experience in image analysis. The post holder will work with chemists at the University of Manchester (UoM) and Chromition (a UoM spin-out company), with senior computer scientists based within the University of Manchester, and with imaging scientists at CRUK-Manchester Institute. Knowledge of cancer treatment would be useful but is not essential as the team has extensive expertise in this area.

The School of Chemistry is strongly committed to promoting equality and diversity, including the Athena SWAN Charter for gender equality in higher education. The School holds a Silver Award which recognises their good practice in relation to gender; including flexible working arrangements, family-friendly policies, and support to allow staff to achieve a good work-life balance. We particularly welcome applications from women for this post. Appointment will always be made on merit. For further information, please visit http://www.chemistry.manchester.ac.uk/about-us/athena-swan/

We positively welcome applications from women, who are currently under-represented at this grade. Appointment will be made on merit.

You may also be interested in the following vacancies;

BMH-13488 Research Associate in Digital Pathology

S&E-13496 Research Associate in Polymer Nanoparticles

The University will actively foster a culture of inclusion and diversity and will seek to achieve true equality of opportunity for all members of its community.

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies

Enquiries about vacancy shortlisting and interviews:

Professor Mike Turner and Dr Richard Byers.

Email:Mike.Turner@manchester.ac.uk richard.byers@cmft.nhs.uk

Technical support:

Email: universityofmanchester@helpmeapply.co.uk

Tel: 0161 850 2004

General enquiries:

Email: hrservices@manchester.ac.uk

Tel: 0161 275 4499

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date

Further Particulars and Job Description