Job Description

Are you an ambitious researcher looking for your next challenge? Do you have an established background in virology or cancer biology? Do you want to further your career in one of the UKs leading research intensive Universities?

Our laboratory is part of a thriving research environment within the Faculty of Biological Sciences, which houses over 100 research groups, 15 of which study viruses. We use cell biology and biochemical techniques to answer important questions about how DNA tumour viruses perform their infection cycles, and in doing so, we hope to understand how they cause disease and ultimately develop strategies to prevent growth and thus disease. Our group is an international authority in DNA tumour virology, we regularly publish in leading journals (e.g. PMID: 33627786; PMID: 35194151; PMID: 33303976) and present our work at national and international meetings. We are collegiate and collaborative, and believe in people-centric working. 

We have an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join our multidisciplinary team of basic science researchers and clinicians studying DNA tumour viruses. Funded as part of a Medical Research Council award to Professor Macdonald, the project focusses on using primary cell culture models, cancer cell lines and patient samples to understand how the oncogenic transcription factors TAZ and YAP contribute to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and disease. Our exciting preliminary studies have shown that YAP and TAZ are critical for HPV-driven cancer cell growth and that they drive distinct transcriptional programmes. We will use a combination of cutting-edge cell culture models, Omics technologies and cell/cancer biology assays to understand how these genes are regulated and the mechanisms by which they contribute to disease and virus replication and/or persistence. These studies will be essential to increase our understanding of virus biology and the underlying normal cell biology. They may also uncover potential new targets for therapeutic intervention. 

For this role, you should have a PhD (or be close to completion) in cell/cancer biology or virology and have a track record of high-quality publications in these areas. You should have experience of using cell biology assays to study host signalling pathways and how changes are brought about by infection or disease (experience in Omics techniques is desirable). Knowledge and experience of a range of cancer assays is required. Practical experience in the culture and propogation of viruses and in culturing primary cells (particularly 3D culture) is highly desirable.

You should be self-motivated, technically competent and capable of working independently in a laboratory. You should also have the ability to research complex issues and interpret, analyse, and present scientific data and write reports.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Andrew Macdonald, Professor of Tumour Virology and Head of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Email: a.macdonald@leeds.ac.uk