Post Doctoral Research Associate at University of Salford

The University of Salford has been at the forefront in leading research to answer some of the fundamental questions relating to FASD. The UoS FASD research team, who are part of this project, is the only UK team with a track record obtaining UK funding for FASD research. One of the recent key articles from the group can be found in this link: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34590329. The early diagnosis of FASD is limited by an inability to confirm alcohol exposure during the pregnancy. For this unmet need, our vision is to identify a non-invasive biomarker for FASD. Northwest England suffers disproportionately from alcohol-related harm. The devolution of health and social care allowed Greater Manchester (GM) to respond to FASD, becoming a leader in England.

We bring together inter-disciplinary university researchers, technicians, and students with NHS colleagues to address an unmet clinical need, particularly benefiting the NW of the country. We are delighted that Greater Manchester Integrated Care is part of our team to realise this vision.

The project team members are the founders of the UK FASD research collaborative and are currently collaborating with Universities of Surrey, Bristol and Brighton on FASD projects; relationships that we will further develop with this programme.

Our vision is to develop a proof-of-principle dataset of using small molecules (microRNA) as possible biomarkers for FASD. We focus on a specific subset of microRNAs that are maternally expressed (hence relevant for maternal alcohol exposure), known for its importance in foetal brain development and for its importance as biomarkers in various human diseases, including cancers.

Read more: Careers at the School of Science, Engineering and Environment | University of Salford

What will the role involve?

We are looking for a post-doctoral fellow to join a research group led by Dr. Arijit Mukhopadhyay, part of the Human and Natural Sciences (HANS) directorate within SSEE. The position is full-time and for a 19-month period (January 2024 – July 2025). The research group is focused on molecular biology and genomics related to human diseases. This specific project is on a novel approach to discover non-invasive molecular biomarkers for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

The post-holder will be responsible for the co-planning and execution of the experiments. An ideal candidate would be someone who has a PhD degree in one of the following areas or a combination of these: (i) extracellular vesicles, (ii) transcriptomics, (iii)) non-coding RNA biology etc; is able to work independently as well as part of a team, and able to handle both wet-lab and analysis parts of the project. Experience in working with nanopore sequencing technology and analysis will be an advantage. The role will also require interactions with clinical and health science collaborators who are part of the programme.

If you have any questions or would like a chat about the role, then please contact Dr. Arijit Mukhopadhyay, at a.mukhopadhyay@salford.ac.uk.

For more information and to apply for this vacancy, please visit Post Doctoral Research Associate – University of Salford VX (tal.net)