PDRA in North East

We welcome applications from candidates with disabilities, neurodiversity and long‑term health conditions, and we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the recruitment and interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, adjustments will be made to support people within their role. If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system or would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments to support you in the application process, please get in touch with us on e.recruitment@durham.ac.uk.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University; it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential. We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

The Department of Biosciences is composed of 62 academic staff and research fellows; around 50 research and technical support staff; over 90 Research Postgraduate students and over 500 Single Honours undergraduate students, and also teaches students from the Natural Sciences programme. The Department is committed to an ethos of research‑led teaching at both BSc and MBiol levels, and was ranked 4th in the UK for Biological Sciences Departments in the Complete University Guide 2027. The Department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award. Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognises the advancement of gender equality, representation and progression. The Department embraces excellence in all of its forms and invites all qualified applicants to apply. We particularly welcome applications from women and black and minority ethnic candidates who are under‑represented in the academic sector.

Join us as a Post‑Doctoral Research Assistant at the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter! At the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter, we are interested in understanding, designing and building natural and artificial bionanomachines. We ask – can we design artificial versions of such machines to carry out processes not available or possible in nature? The ability to design functional, dynamic proteins will revolutionise medicine. It will mean new capabilities in vaccines and drug including nanoscale medicine that can be programmed and can self‑propel. We have established the Centre of Programmable Biological Matter (CPBM) as to spearhead research in this area.

ENGINEERING PROGRAMMABLE DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR MITOCHONDRIA

This post forms part of a major ARIA‑funded multidisciplinary programme aimed at transforming mitochondria into programmable entities. The successful candidate will join the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter at Durham University and lead the development of engineered protein nanocages for the delivery of molecular cargoes to mitochondria. The project will build on our established TRAP‑cage platform, an ultra‑stable, self‑assembling protein nanostructure that can encapsulate biological cargoes and release them in response to defined environmental triggers. The research will involve the design, construction and characterisation of artificial proteins capable of recognising and transporting cargoes across cellular barriers. Approaches will include protein engineering, AI‑enabled protein design, synthetic biology, recombinant protein production, biophysical characterisation, microscopy and the development of novel cargo‑targeting strategies.

The postholder will work closely with a consortium spanning mitochondrial genetics, nanotechnology, extracellular vesicle engineering and synthetic biology. They will contribute to the development of next‑generation technologies for mitochondrial manipulation, generating fundamental insights and enabling future therapeutic applications. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated researcher to contribute to a high‑risk, high‑reward programme at the interface of synthetic biology, protein engineering, bionanotechnology and mitochondrial biology. This role will be based on‑site, at the Department of Chemistry, Durham University, in our newly refurbished labs with state‑of‑the‑art equipment. Full‑time for 15 months.

Key responsibilities:

• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that leads to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include: research sponsors, academic and non‑academic audiences.
• To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer‑reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant‑holder.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant‑holder.
• To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant‑holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant‑holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To be involved in student supervision, as appropriate, and assist with the assessment of the knowledge of students.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment.