Research Fellow at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice. 

We are seeking to appoint a postdoctoral malaria parasite molecular biologist research fellow to work in the laboratory of Professor David Baker within the Faculty of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 

The post-holder will be responsible for carrying out research on the cGMP- and cAMP-regulated signalling pathways that control life cycle transitions in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The work will have a particular focus on the mechanisms that control invasion of red blood cells and release (egress) of parasites from infected red blood cells. The programme is supported by a joint Wellcome Trust Investigator Award and carried out in partnership with Professor Mike Blackman at the Francis Crick Institute. The candidate will join other postdoctoral fellows working on this Wellcome Trust-funded joint research programme.

The post-holder successful applicant will work on dissecting the activation and regulation of cyclic nucleotide signalling pathways and how the cGMP-dependent protein kinase mediates malaria parasite egress and how the cAMP-dependent protein kinase mediates invasion (see PLoS Biol. 17:e3000264, 2019; PNAS 116:14164-14173, 2019; mBio. 13:e0163522, 2022; Sci Adv. 7:eabe5396, 2022). The work will involve molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology and microscopy.

The successful applicant will have a PhD in molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry or a closely related field, in-depth experience with P. falciparum cultivation and transfection, a significant amount of postdoctoral laboratory experience, in-depth skills in molecular techniques (e.g. plasmid construction, manipulation and DNA cloning), cell biology, cell culture and biochemical techniques. Further particulars are included in the job description.

The post is fixed term until 30^th June 2025 and full-time 1 FTE. The post is funded by the Wellcome Trust and is available to start as soon as possible. The salary will be on the Academic scale, Grade 6 scale in the range £ 43,947 – £ 49,908 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary “Wellbeing Days”. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London. 

LSHTM has a Hybrid Working Framework, which alongside agreed service requirements, enables teams to work more flexibly (if the role allows), promoting a greater wellbeing and work/life balance.

Applications should be made online via our website, please click ‘Apply’ above to be redirected. Online applications will be accepted by the automated system until 10pm on the closing date. Any queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.

The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered.  

Further details:   Job Description