Job ID: 95670

Postdoctoral research assistant/associate in stem cell photoreceptor driven retinal repair

Position: Post-doctoral Position

Deadline: 31 October 2022

Employment Start Date: 3 January 2023

Contract Length: 42 months

City: Newcastle upon Tyne

Country: United Kingdom

Institution: Newcastle University, Faculty of Medical Sciences

Department: Biosciences Institute

Description:

We are seeking a motivated research fellow to join our group of investigators (Lako, Thiele, Sernagor) at Biosciences Institute to assess photoreceptor engraftment and their ability to restore vision in early and advanced stages of Retinitis Pigmentosa using mouse models. The research fellow will join a team of two other researchers (senior research fellow and research technician) and will specifically contribute to genetic engineering of pluripotent stem cell lines to incorporate a rod reporter, AAV injection in mice and 2-photon imaging + data analyses. As part of the team, the research fellow will also perform behavioural assays of transplanted mice, immunofluorescence and FISH analyses of transplanted retinas.

This MRC funded work follows from our recent work on characterisation and transplantation of CRX-photoreceptors in rd1 mice (PMID: 30681766) and their light responses (PMID: 33657251).

A scientific background on pluripotent stem cell culture and differentiation to retinal organoids and retinal biology will be essential and applicants with record of accomplishment and expertise in gene editing in pluripotent stem cells and retinal organoids are preferred.  Importantly experience of animal handling, AAV injection into the visual cortex and/or 2-photon imaging, immunofluorescence analyses of mouse retinas are highly desirable for this post.