Short summary

A postdoctoral research post in the laboratory of Jim Smith is now available. We are looking for a highly motivated researcher to use Xenopus and other vertebrate models to study the function of the FAM83 family of proteins, in a project involving collaboration with Gopal Sapkota (Dundee). The work will focus particularly on the role of FAM83 family members in Wnt signalling; the ways in which FAM83 family members might behave as scaffold proteins; and the role of FAM83G in ciliogenesis (in both Xenopus and in mammalian cells). Other experiments will involve analysis of proteins that interact with FAM83 family members and the roles of FAM83 family members in disease. There will also be the opportunity to contribute to analyses of the very early stages of Xenopus development.

The successful applicant will use a wide range of techniques including (but not limited to) experimental embryology, next-generation sequencing (ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ini-seq, and so on), bioinformatics, time-lapse micrography, and cell biology.

Project scope

The Developmental Biology Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute studies the development of various vertebrate species, including Xenopus, zebrafish and mouse, to find out how the different types of cells in an embryo form in the right place at the right time. The group is small and collegial, and it collaborates widely with other research groups both in the Crick and elsewhere. The team has recently contributed to our understanding of the mid-blastula transition in Xenopus; it has identified the nature of off-target effects in the use of anti-sense morpholino oligonucleotides; it has shed light on the genetic regulatory networks that underlie mesoderm formation; and it has collaborated with Gopal Sapkota in Dundee to understand the many functions of the FAM83 family.

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy.

The closing date for applications is 13 September 2018 at 23:30.

All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.