Research Fellow

What we offer

Working with some of the greatest intellects in the world, UCL also offers a generous pension scheme and holiday allowance, plus closure and bank holidays as well as enhanced parental pay and more. Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Application Processs

If you have any queries regarding the vacancy please contact Professor Maria Moosajee, (email:m.moosajee@ucl.ac.uk).

If you have any queries regarding the application process please email: ioo.hr@ucl.ac.uk.

A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

Please ensure you attach your CV, highest academic qualification. Also, please ensure you provide a personal statement outlining how you meet the criteria to support your application.

About us

The Institute of Ophthalmology is committed to a multi-disciplinary research portfolio that furthers an understanding of the eye and visual system linked with clinical investigations targeted to specific problems in the prevention and treatment of eye disease. The combination of the Institute's research resource with the resources of Moorfields Eye Hospital, which has the largest ophthalmic patient population in the Western World, opens the way for advances at the forefront of vision research and provides an unparalleled setting for research and training in Ophthalmology.

About the role

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are the commonest cause of blindness amongst working age adults. There are over 360 causative genes, but for the majority of patients, no treatments are available. Professor Mariya Moosajee and her team are working to advance our understanding of IRDs by generating human disease models using induced pluripotent stem cell technology to derive patient retinal organoids. These can be studied to identify disease pathophysiology and to test new treatments. Working in close collaboration with Professor Mariya Moosajee, the Post Doctoral Fellow will focus on the development of non-viral approaches, using mRNA and non-viral gene therapy, as potential treatment options for two genes of interest MYO7A and GUCY2D-retinopathy. The Post Doctoral Fellow will use a range of techniques to facilitate the group's work, including: stem cell culture, generation of iPSC colonies and differentiation into target retinal cells, histology, electron and confocal microscopy, molecular biology such as western blots, and immunocytochemistry. Additional skills may be required for testing in vivo models, and necessary training will be provided where necessary. Candidates with a PhD is essential, experience in the aforementioned techniques, and who are bright, independent and highly motivated, but willing and able to work effectively as part of a collaborative team are encouraged to apply.

About you

The candidate must be a good communicator, both in lay and scientific terms, with strong writing skills. They must be competent with literature searches, published papers, and have background understanding of genetic eye disease. The candidate should be organised, hardworking and enjoy writing.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work - please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/ways-of-working to find out more.