"Research Technician"

Job reference: BMH-029277

Salary: £31,637 to £36,130 per annum, dependent on relevant experience

Faculty/Organisational Unit: Biology, Medicine Health

Location: Oxford Road

Employment type: Fixed Term

Division/Team: FBMH Technical Services

Hours Per Week: 35 hours per week (1 FTE)

Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 12/08/2025

Contract Duration: 36 months

School/Directorate: Faculty Office - Biology, Medicine and Health

A 3-year research technician post is available on a Wellcome Trust-funded project investigating how menopause may increase Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk in females. The project will investigate whether menopause increases Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk in females by exacerbating vascular dysfunction. There is potential to extend the post beyond the initial 3 years.

The position is supervised by Dr Kira Shaw and Dr Ingo Schiessl and is part of the wider Brain Inflammation Group (braininflamelab.org). The successful candidate will also work closely with other group members, including Professor Stuart Allan, and with collaborators in the Microvascular@Manchester group (microvascularmanchester.com), including Dr Harry Pritchard and Professor Adam Greenstein. The post is based within the Division of Neuroscience at the University of Manchester.

We are seeking a candidate with a background in neuroscience or a related discipline, ideally with experience in in vivo or molecular techniques. You will work on projects investigating the neurovascular mechanisms at the onset of menopause and/or Alzheimer’s disease (https://wellcome.org/research-funding/funding-portfolio/funded-grants/does-menopause-enhance-alzheimers-disease-risk).

Key responsibilities include:

• Breeding and maintaining transgenic mouse colonies
• Performing surgeries to support in vivo imaging (e.g. multi-photon microscopy, optical imaging spectroscopy)
• Conducting behavioural testing for cognitive function
• Post-mortem analysis (e.g. immunohistochemistry, RNA sequencing) to identify candidate treatments targeting menopause-sensitive vasodilation pathways.

Full training will be provided for any unfamiliar techniques. As a Wellcome Trust-funded researcher, you will have access to 10 training days per year. This role offers the chance to contribute to a well-supported research programme while gaining broad technical experience and developing your career in experimental neuroscience. The successful candidate will also have opportunities to collaborate across the wider lab and research networks.

What you will get in return:

• Fantastic market leading Pension scheme
• Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme
• Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays
• Additional paid closure over the Christmas period
• Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers

As an equal opportunities employer we support an inclusive working environment and welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.

Our University is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here

Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Any CV’s submitted by a recruitment agency will be considered a gift.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Dr Kira Shaw

Email: kira.shaw@sheffield.ac.uk

General enquiries:

Email: People.recruitment@manchester.ac.uk

Technical support:

https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.

Please see the link below for the Further Particulars document which contains the person specification criteria.

Please be aware that due to the number of applications we are unfortunately not able to provide individual feedback on your application.