Research Fellow in Systems Chemistry - School of ChemistryGrade 7

Position Details

School of Chemistry College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range 36130 to 45413 with potential progression once in post to 48149

As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7 salary 36130

Full Time Fixed Term contract up to May 2027

Closing date: 14th April 2025. Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

UK and International travel may be required for this role

Background

We are seeking applications for a 24month Research Fellow position to work on Dr. Oliver Maguires European Research Council Starting Grant Electrochemically Programmable Biochemical Networks for Animate Materials and to support all activities in Dr. Maguires research group.

Lifes biological materials are animatematerials capable of adaptingto their surroundings by activelychanging in response to the environment. A key distinguishing feature of animate materials is their ability to autonomously make decisionsover how to respond to stimuli. An example of an animate material is your skin: on cold days the hairs on your skin rise to trap warm air without your conscious thought. The ability of living materials to make decisions arises from biochemical reaction networks (e.g. protein signalling) in the material. The networks process environmental information and decide how to adapt the material in response. Artificial animate materials promise to be superior for many applications (e.g. soft robots MedTech) compared to their inert counterparts as their decisionmaking abilities will enable them to leverage advantageous events into better outcomes and limit the damage from disadvantageous ones. However currently there is not a wellestablished route to fabricate artificial animate materials.

Relevant Articles 1 Ghosh Huck et al.Chem. Rev.2024 124 2553. 2 ter Harmsel Maguire Huck Harutyunyan et al. Nature 2023 621 87. 3 Maguire Huck et al. Chem. Commun. 2020 56 3725. 4 Ashkenasy et al.Chem. Soc. Rev. 2017 46 2543.

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.

The School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham is a vibrant and thriving academic community with over 110 academic and research staff 20 professional services staff and over 600 students. We provide an inclusive and supportive environment where we strive to support every member of staff in realising their career a strong focus on our four Research Themes of Energy Sustainability Environment and Health and a number of interdisciplinary Interest Groups serving as testbeds to explore new and emerging areas of interest Birmingham is a dynamic place to have ambitious plans to expand our research activity and are in an exciting period of growth: major investment from the University has delivered a stateoftheart molecular sciences research building. This investment builds on a major recent expansion of our academic staff and investment in our teaching and learning provision with our Collaborative Teaching Laboratory which opened September 2018 already revolutionising how we teach undergraduate practical chemistry.

We are a collegiate School will demonstrate academic citizenship develop and maintain generous mutually respectful and supportive working relationships with the School ensuring the way you carry out your role impacts positively on how others carry out theirs.

Role Summary

You will create novel chemical reaction networks out of redoxsensitive proteins and organic molecules that will make decisions in response to electrochemical signals. You will achieve this by combining detailed kinetic studies of enzymatic and organic reactions with modelling to identify the location and scope of the targeted decisionmaking behaviour. You will demonstrate the full networks under outofequilibrium conditions. You will work towards integrating the networks into hydrogels to create actuators which autonomously make decisions about their movement.

• To write papers for publication in peer reviewed scientific journals
• Participate in and present at conferences
• To support research within the Maguire group to solve problems collaborate and innovate in scientific directions for the group
• To produce regular written and oral reports on the projects; attend regular group meetings; give regular presentations to the group; proofreading of papers reports etc.
• To contribute to supervising research students be responsible for installation and maintenance of equipment and training of personnel on equipment
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• 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

Main Duties

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

• To work on Dr. Oliver Maguires funded European Research Council Starting Grant Electrochemically Programmable Biochemical Networks for Animate Materials and to support all activities in Dr. Maguires research group
• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research with assistance of a mentor if required
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods such as scientific experimentation literature reviews and research interviews
• Analyse and interpret data
• Progress the research project towards realising deliverables and hitting milestones
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Contribute to developing new models techniques and methods
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication research seminars etc
• Present research outputs including drafting academic publications or parts thereof for example at seminars and as posters
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Work effectively with collaborators
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Provide guidance as required to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School researchrelated activities and researchrelated administration in the Maguire group
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Contribute to enterprise business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the project the College and the University often under supervision of a project leader

Person Specification

• Candidates must have a PhD or be near to completion in Chemistry or a related discipline
• Experience inareas such as reaction kinetics enzyme/protein chemistry DNA/RNA nucleotide chemistry electrochemistry hydrogels and organic synthesis would be a strong advantage (note you are not expected to be familiar with all these areas)
• Candidates should be familiar with a range of different analytical techniques such as NMR fluorescence UVVis spectroscopy microscopy mass spectrometry HPLC(though expertise in all is not required)
• Interest in interdisciplinary research and willingness to learn new techniques
• A successful applicant will have an independent and diligent work ethic with a keen interest in the project
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to write papers deliver oral/poster presentations and 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 programmeand/or specific research project
• Work effectively in a research team including collaborative research
• Ability to install and maintain a broad range of equipment within the group and to train other personnel on their operation
• Coordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Ability to keep up to date with new developments in relevant research fields
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team both as a leader and team member on research programmes
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries to Dr. Oliver Maguire email:

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 everyoneon our website.