Postdoctoral Fellow â Hill lab
Postdoctoral Fellow â Hill lab
Employer Active
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
Share
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
Job Description
Salary for this Role:
From 45500 with benefits subject to skills and experience
Job Title:
Postdoctoral Fellow Hill labReports to:
Caroline HillClosing Date:
18/May/2025 23.59 GMTJob Description:
Postdoctoral Fellow Hill lab
Reporting to: Caroline Hill Head of Developmental Signalling Laboratory
Contact term: This is a fulltime fixed term 4 years position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.
About Us
The Francis Crick Institute is Europes largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our worldclass scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help preventdiagnoseand treat illnesses such as cancer heart disease infectiousdiseasesand neurodegenerative conditions.
The Crick is a place for collaborationinnovationand exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds canpursue big and bold ideasand discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence withstateoftheartinfrastructurecuttingedgefacilities and a creative and curious culture.Weveremoved traditional boundaries of departments divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher. This gives us the freedom tocollaborateand carry out highquality pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.
The Research Group
The Developmental Signalling Laboratory headed by Caroline Hill focuses on cell signalling in early vertebrate development and disease see Their work seeks to understand how TGFb family signalling pathways function normally in early vertebrate development and in adult untransformed cells and how these signalling pathways are perturbed in disease in particular in cancer and the Marfanrelated syndromes. Work in the Hill laboratory exploits the very powerful combination of early vertebrate developmental systems (zebrafish embryos) together with a variety of model tissue culture systems (human and mouse ES cell/iPS cell models) and mouse cancer models and uses a very wide range of methodologies including developmental and cell biology cancer biology next generation sequencing and computational modelling. The Hill lab encourages creative and independent thinking and promotes excellent training and mentoring. The group currently comprises ten people five postdocs two PhD students a clinical fellow a masters student and a senior laboratory research scientist.
For selected recent publications see:
The Project
Recent work in my lab has determined that mesoderm and endoderm specification in zebrafish embryos requires the interplay of two signalling pathways Nodal and Fgf/Erk. We have shown that the distribution of endodermal progenitors results from a stochastic process where sustained Nodal signalling provides a competency window for the switching of bipotential progenitors to an endodermal fate. Switching is apparently stochastic and is inhibited by Fgf/Erk signalling. Cells that do not switch to the endodermal fate differentiate to mesoderm. Thus we hypothesise that short windows of Erk inactivity govern the switching to the endodermal fate and we have shown that these occur as cells undergo mitosis as a result of a phenomenon we are calling mitotic erasure.
We now want to understand whether a similar mechanism controls the cell fate decision between mesoderm and definitive endoderm in humans and if not how this fate decision is controlled. To undertake this work I am looking for a highly motivated postdoc with proven research abilities and an excellent publication record.
The project will make use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiated as 2D and 3D gastruloids. We will multiplex our novel Erk biosensor with live cell fate reporters to discover whether and how Erk signalling is involved in the cell fate decision between definitive endoderm and mesoderm. Furthermore we will use multiomics scRNAseq and scATACseq methodology as well as whole genome CRISPR screening approaches to gain unbiased new insights into the mechanisms driving the specification of the mesodermal and endodermal lineages in humans.
Postdoctoral Fellows at the Crick lead their own projects contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis (both in the lab and with external collaborators) and may guide PhD students in their research. The ability to work in a team is essential.
Key experience and competencies
The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values:
Bold; Imaginative; Open; Dynamic; Collegial
Essential
- PhD in a relevant biological science
- Excellent knowledge and demonstrable practical experience of working with embryonic stem cells
- Extensive technical expertise in differentiating embryonic stem cells to different tissue types as 2D and 3D gastruloids
- Technical expertise in advanced live imaging
- Technical expertise in molecular biology
- Excellent track record of writing papers as evidenced by publications or submitted manuscripts in referred journals
- Evidence of data presentation at scientific meetings as talks and posters
- Strong organisational skills and thorough recordkeeping
- Ability to work independently and also in a team
Desirable
- Experience in omics techniques and bioinformatic analysis
- Experience in signal transduction research
About Working at the Crick
Our values
Everyone who works at the Crick has a valuable role to play in advancing the Cricks mission and shaping our culture!
We arebold. We make space for creativedynamicand imaginative ideas and approaches.Werenot afraid to do things differently.
We areopen.Werehighly collaborative and interactive and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world.
We arecollegial. We show respect for one another workcooperativelyand support the wider community.
At the Francis Crick Institute we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued respected and empowered to succeed regardless of their background identity or personal circumstances. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all genders ethnicities abilities and experiences. We want to ensure that everyone can apply and be part of ourteam and you will be asked as part of the process if you wish to apply under the Disability Confident scheme.We willmake reasonable adjustments if you need them. If you needassistancewith applying (i.e. would like to apply by phone or post)please email:
To find out more about life at the Crick clickhere.
What will you receive
At the Francis Crick Institute we value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their wellbeing and development:
Visas:Applicants for this role will be eligible for sponsorship to work in the UK
Generous Leave: 28 days of annual leave plus threeadditionaldays over Christmas and bank holidays.
Pension Scheme: Defined contribution pension with employer contributions of up to 16%.
Health & Wellbeing:
24/7 GP consultation services.
Occupational health services and mental health support programs.
Eye care vouchers and discounted healthcare plans.
WorkLife Balance:
Backup care for dependents.
Childcare support allowance.
Annual leave purchase options.
Crick Networks offering diverse groups supportcommunityand inclusive social events.
Perks:
Discounted gym memberships biketowork scheme and shopping discounts.
Subsidised onsite restaurant and social spaces for team interaction.
Development & Recognition: Comprehensive training mentoring and a paystructure based on skills and experience.
Employment Type
Grant
