Building Support (Fixed Term)
The Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focused on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease.
We are currently looking to appoint to the position of Building Support. This is a busy and varied role carrying out a range of duties to support the effective operation and day to day upkeep of the Unit.
Duties include having responsibility for building security; ensuring safety rules are observed; supporting the goods inwards service; maintaining lab consumables; making sure that the building is kept clean and well maintained; undertaking minor maintenance tasks and ensuring building equipment is serviced as necessary; assisting with the set-up of rooms for events and liaising with contractors as required.
You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, be well organised and a reliable team player. You should be educated GCSE level including English and Mathematics/NVQ level 2 or equivalent level of practical experience. Experience of carrying out minor maintenance works is essential as is the ability to perform basic DIY tasks.
The post is part of the team rota for out of hours services and you will therefore need to be able to respond to on call duties as required.
This post is fixed-term with funding available until 31 March 2027 in the first instance.
The University offers a range of staff benefits which includes competitive rates of pay with automatic service-related pay progression and annual cost of living increases and an annual leave allowance of 36 days paid leave (including bank holidays).
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU45832 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Building Support (Fixed Term)
The Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focused on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease.
We are currently looking to appoint to the position of Building Support. This is a busy and varied role carrying out a range of duties to support the effective operation and day to day upkeep of the Unit.
Duties include having responsibility for building security; ensuring safety rules are observed; supporting the goods inwards service; maintaining lab consumables; making sure that the building is kept clean and well maintained; undertaking minor maintenance tasks and ensuring building equipment is serviced as necessary; assisting with the set-up of rooms for events and liaising with contractors as required.
You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, be well organised and a reliable team player. You should be educated GCSE level including English and Mathematics/NVQ level 2 or equivalent level of practical experience. Experience of carrying out minor maintenance works is essential as is the ability to perform basic DIY tasks.
The post is part of the team rota for out of hours services and you will therefore need to be able to respond to on call duties as required.
This post is fixed-term with funding available until 31 March 2027 in the first instance.
The University offers a range of staff benefits which includes competitive rates of pay with automatic service-related pay progression and annual cost of living increases and an annual leave allowance of 36 days paid leave (including bank holidays).
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 March 2027 in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU45578 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
IT Specialist (Fixed Term)
The Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit is a leading International Research Institute within the School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge.
We are looking to appoint an IT Specialist to provide IT support for the research and administrative functions of the Toxicology Unit.
Main duties and responsibilities include:
General IT Support
¿ First-tier technical support, including general AV and IT troubleshooting for Windows, MacOS, and mobile devices ¿ Ensure user and instrument devices are updated/University compliant ¿ Manage computer life cycle ¿ Prepare and update standard operating procedures ¿ Prepare user guides and provide training to users at all levels
System Management and Support
¿ Manage user account life cycle ¿ Hands-on experience managing and maintaining Windows and Linux services, including AD, group policy, DNS, DHCP, Hyper-V, SQL Server, and Mongo DB
Network Management and Support
¿ Manage/maintain network infrastructure, including configurations, patching and tuning ¿ Ensure the network is secure and working efficiently. Troubleshoot network problems, collect performance statistics and create reports
You will be educated to degree level/level 6 vocational qualification or equivalent level of experience with demonstrable hands-on experience in IT support on different platforms. You will be a good communicator, highly proactive and able to develop and maintain technical knowledge.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 March 2027 in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU45415 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant (Fixed Term)
The Sawarkar/Willis lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit is looking for a Research Assistant to contribute to its programme on neurodegeneration, epigenetics and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) RNA therapeutics.
The project will use state-of-the-art molecular cell biology technologies, combined with ex vivo cell culture models, to improve delivery of ASO therapeutics and assay for related toxicity in neurodegeneration.
You will need to hold or be close to completing a Masters' degree in an appropriate field (e.g. Molecular biology) and/or have relevant experience at an equivalent level, together with demonstrable hands-on experience in RNA/ protein analytical techniques, microscopy and tissue culture. You will be able to work both independently and as part of a team, have excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills and ideally have experience of working on an independent research project. Enthusiasm for working in a diverse inter-disciplinary team is desirable.
The MRC Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focussed on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease. The Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including mass spectrometry, microscopy, and bioinformatics, and offers excellent opportunities for scientific career development.
Fixed-term: This post is funded by ERC until 31 August 2026 in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU45409 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Laboratory Technician - Tissue Culture and Media Kitchen (Fixed Term)
The Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focused on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease.
We are currently looking to appoint a Laboratory Technician to provide tissue culture, laboratory and media kitchen support to our research groups. The successful candidate will be required to ensure adequate supplies of glassware, general lab consumables and disposal of laboratory waste. You will also provide tissue culture laboratory maintenance including consumables ordering, media preparation, inspection and cleaning of tissue culture rooms and equipment.
You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, be well organised and a reliable team player. You should be educated to A level, NVQ level 3 or have equivalent level of practical experience. Some experience of laboratory/biological scientific research work is essential; experience of tissue culture, laboratory and aseptic techniques would be an advantage.
This post is fixed-term with funding available until 31 March 2027 in the first instance.
The University offers a range of staff benefits which include:
Competitive rates of pay with automatic service-related pay progression and annual cost of living increases.
An annual leave allowance of 36 days paid leave (including bank holidays)
Generous maternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlement and other family friendly schemes (e.g. workplace nurseries and salary exchange schemes for childcare)
An auto-enrolment pension scheme, with a generous employer contribution
Travel benefits and retail discounts at over 2,000 local and national stores
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU45339 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
PhD Studentship - Role of the ribotoxic stress response in determining cell fate in human skin exposed to UV-light
Applications are invited for a 3.5 year PhD studentship based within the MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge. The student will be working on a collaborative project jointly supervised by Anne E. Willis (MRC Toxicology Unit and Paul O'Mahoney (NIHR Health Protection Research Unit).
Human skin provides a barrier against the external environment and is therefore exposed to a variety of environmental insults. When skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight, both acute and long-term local responses are stimulated including, inflammation, epidermal hyperplasia, carcinogenesis and keratinocyte cell death. Many of the harmful effects of UV-light on skin have been attributed to DNA damage and the activation of DNA damage signalling pathways. More recently, however, it has become clear that UV-induced RNA damage also plays a major role in the acute response of skin to UV radiation [1,2]. UV-induced lesions within RNA cause stalling of translating ribosomes, which leads to activation of the ribotoxic stress response (RSR) [2, 3]. To date, the RSR has been implicated in acute cell cycle arrest, the inflammatory response, epidermal thickening and keratinocyte cell death [1-3]. However, a more complete understanding of RSR's role in the response of skin to UV, and the mechanisms through which this is achieved, remain to be determined.
There is evidence that many proteins involved in post-transcriptional control of gene expression are phosphorylated in cells exposed to UV-light in an RSR-dependent manner, suggesting that the UV RSR targets post-transcriptional gene expression. Thus, the goals of this project are to determine how post-transcriptional gene expression is influenced by the RSR when skin is exposed to UV-light and what effect these mechanisms have on the fate of skin cells. Cell-wide proteomic techniques will be used to highlight novel post-transcriptional targets of the RSR. The influence of these target proteins on post-transcriptional control will be investigated using RNA sequencing technologies. Finally, the biological impact of these targets will be explored in human primary keratinocytes and human ex-vivo skin cell models.
The overall aim of this project is to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of the response of skin to UV-light to help develop an informed approach to UV radiation risk management and health protection.
Applicants should have or shortly expect to obtain a first or good upper second-class degree from a UK university, or an equivalent standard from an overseas university, in a relevant subject such as Biomedical Science. Strong analytical skills, in addition to creativity, curiosity, enthusiasm, and the ability to work in a team are essential.
Full funding is provided by the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Radiation Threats and Hazards and the MRC Toxicology Unit. This includes Maintenance and the University Composition Fee (Home Fee rate only) with effect from 1 October 2025.
This studentship is open to UK citizens or overseas students who meet the UK residency requirements (home fees) or who are able to augment the funds to cover the extra costs associated with international student fees. Full details of the University's entrance requirements are specified here: http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/application-process/entry-requirements.
All formal applications will need to be made through the University Application Portal: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/bltopdtox
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
PhD Studentship
Supervisors: Anne E. Willis and Ritwick Sawarkar (MRC Toxicology Unit), Giandomenico Turchiano and Roberto Nitsch (AstraZeneca)
PhD Studentship: Enhancing Genome Editing Efficiency and Stability through Analysis of DNA Mobility Post-Double Strand Breaks
Applications are invited for a 3.5 year PhD studentship based within the MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, with extended industry experience at AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK). The student will be working on a collaborative project jointly supervised by Anne E. Willis and Ritwick Sawarkar (MRC Toxicology Unit), Giandomenico Turchiano and Roberto Nitsch (AstraZeneca).
We are seeking a highly motivated individual to undertake a combined experimental/computational project on CRISPR/ Cas9-related therapeutics using human models. This is a mixed wet/dry lab project combining human cell genomics, microscopy and sequencing-based approaches. The purpose of the studentship is to apply molecular cell biology approaches to (i) understand mechanisms of CRISPR off-targets and (ii) advance the scientific understanding of DNA mobility post-double strand breaks.
This studentship offers a unique training opportunity for engagement with leading academic and industry partners to understand the mechanism by which CRISPR therapeutics may cause genomics off-targeting. Rotating between laboratories at the University of Cambridge and AstraZeneca the student will gain experience in a breadth of experimental and analytical techniques, including: molecular biology, cell culture, microscopic assays, DNA sequencing, and statistical data analyses.
Applicants should have or shortly expect to obtain a first or good upper second-class degree from a UK university, or an equivalent standard from an overseas university, in a relevant subject such as Biomedical Science. Strong analytical skills, in addition to creativity, curiosity, enthusiasm, and the ability to work in a team are essential.
This studentship is open to UK citizens or overseas students who meet the UK residency requirements (home fees) or are able to augment the funds to cover the extra costs associated with international student fees. Full details of the University's entrance requirements are specified here: http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/application-process/entry-requirements.
REFERENCES: 1) 1. Turchiano et al. Quantitative evaluation of chromosomal rearrangements in gene-edited human stem cells by CAST-Seq. Cell Stem Cell 2021 2) Selvaraj et al. High-efficiency transgene integration by homology-directed repair in human primary cells using DNA-PKcs inhibition. Nat. Biotech. 2024
All formal applications will need to be made through the University Application Portal: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/bltopdtox
Your online application must include a CV (including full details of all University course grades to date), contact details for two academic or professional referees and a personal statement of interest.
Full funding covering Maintenance and the University Composition Fee (Home Fee rate) is provided for the studentship, with effect from 1 October 2025.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant/Research Associate (Fixed Term)
The Sawarkar lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit is looking to appoint a Research Associate (Postdoctoral Fellow) to contribute to its programme on Epigenetics, tRNA transcription and Neurodegeneration. The project will use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to identify epigenetic determinants that lead to protein misfolding in neurons.
Using single-cell technologies for in vivo mouse models as well as embryonic stem cell differentiation models of neurodegeneration, the project will identify mechanisms leading to age-associated protein misfolding in neurons. The focus of the work will be on the role of tRNAs in neurodegeneration and protein misfolding. Your role will be to support the research activities of the group and conduct your own research projects within the remit of the research programme at the frontiers of molecular bioscience.
For further details, please see Leone et al (2024) Mol Cell and Mulroney et al (2024) Nature. You will need to hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in an appropriate field such as molecular cell biology/chromatin/transcription, together with proven skills obtained in a molecular cell biology lab (RNA work, mammalian cell culture, cloning and protein work). You will be able to work both independently and as part of a team, have excellent communication and organisational skills with full commitment to the publication of data.
The MRC Toxicology Unit is an internationally renowned institution focussed on the delivery of field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease. The Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including mass spectrometry, microscopy, and bioinformatics, and offers excellent opportunities for scientific career development.
Appointment to Research Associate is dependent on having a PhD. Where a PhD has yet to be awarded or submitted, appointment will initially be made as a Research Assistant and amended to Research Associate when the PhD is awarded.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available to 31st August 2026 in the first instance.
Previous applicants need not apply.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact hradmin@mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our website: https://www.mrc-tox.cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PU44869 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
