University of Birmingham

Position Details

Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to September 2029

Closing date: 15th September 2026

Background

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project.

Role Summary

• Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Contribute to generating funding
• Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
• Establish and conduct high-throughput studies of lymphocyte receptor (TCR/BCR) antigen specificity
• Automate screening assays using state-of-the-art high-throughput enabling infrastructure
• Develop or co-develop new approaches to ultra-high-throughput screening techniques
• Work together with clinical collaborators to characterize functionally relevant lymphocyte clonotypes, phenotypes, and antigens
Attend conferences and co-author manuscripts for peer review to disseminate novel findings

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Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews*
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters*
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research*
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines*
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document
Receive professional instrument-specific training, then train/manage users of Hamilton STAR liquid handling workstation

* These indicative responsibilities may also be included in a research role at grade 6.

Person Specification or Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• A PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion) of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document .

• Familiarity with T cell and B cell receptor sequence and structure

• Familiarity with high-throughput liquid handling techniques

• Expertise in molecular biological techniques to obtain, clone, and re-express TCRs and BCRs

• Expertise in flow cytometry, single-cell repertoire analysis, mammalian cell culture, transduction with viral vectors, and immunological/biochemical assays (e.g. imaging, ELISA)
  

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Lisa Powell, email: l.h.powell@bham.ac.uk

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .