Research Fellow in Cancer Virology and Radiotherapy Are you an ambitious researcher looking for your next challenge? Do you have an established background in cancer biology, cancer virology or radiobiology? Are you keen to develop new skills in a range of approaches? Do you thrive, working across disciplines with discovery and clinical researchers? Do you want to further your career in one of the UKs leading research intensive Universities?
Applications are invited for a CRUK-funded research fellow position, to understand the mechanisms by which the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes anal cancer. This exciting, timely and transformative research project has the potential to change clinical practice in how we treat these debilitating cancers. Together, we will characterise the key cellular factors underpinning the response to radiotherapy in these cancers to identify novel factors for therapeutic intervention. This research project is a collaboration between experts in HPV and radiotherapy, combining biochemical, genomic and virological approaches to tackle an important outstanding clinical question on the role of HPV infection on the response to therapy. HPV infection is responsible for ~90% of anal squamous cell carcinomas (ASCC) and virus infection is typically indicative of a positive prognosis in contrast to HPV negative ASCC; however, despite this, most patients that do not respond to radiotherapy are HPV positive. Therefore, it is crucial to uncover the molecular mechanisms of radiotherapy resistance to develop smarter, kinder treatments for these cancers. We have already obtained biopsies from patients that have responded to treatment compared with those who have since relapsed or never responded and will perform RNA-sequencing to look for distinct transcriptional profiles. Therefore, this is an active project that requires someone to drive it forward. You will join a vibrant research community within the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Leeds, including LeedsOmics and the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology.
You should have a PhD (or close to completion) in virology, cancer biology, radiotherapy biology or a closely allied discipline and experience in cancer and cell biology.
The Macdonald group uses cell biology and biochemical techniques to answer important questions about how DNA tumour viruses perform their infection cycles, and in doing so, we hope to understand how they cause disease and ultimately develop strategies to prevent growth and thus disease. Our group is an international authority in DNA tumour virology, we regularly publish in leading journals and present our work at national and international meetings. We are collegiate, collaborative, and believe in people-centric working. We work across disciplines and this project is funded as part of a £2.95 million investment by CRUK into the Leeds Radiotherapy Centre of Excellence (RadNet). The CRUK RadNet is a network of centres of excellence and state-of-the-art facilities working with the research community to tackle the major challenges in radiobiology and radiation oncology.
The University of Leeds and the Faculty of Biological Sciences are committed to providing equal opportunities for all and offer a range of family friendly policies. The University is a charter member of Athena SWAN, and the Faculty of Biological Sciences was awarded a Silver award in 2020. We are proud to be an inclusive Faculty that values all staff, and are happy to consider job share applications and requests for flexible working arrangements from our employees.
Please note: If you are not a British or Irish citizen, you will require permission to work in the UK. This will normally be in the form of a visa but, if you are an EEA/Swiss citizen, this may be your status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
This post may be suitable for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route but first-time applicants might need to qualify for salary concessions.
To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: Professor Andrew Macdonald, Professor of Tumour Virology
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