Research Assistant/ Associate in Immune Reconstitution

Salary: Research Assistant £33,951 - £35,608 per annum; Research Associate £36,636 per annum.

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 30 August 2026.

The Role

An exciting opportunity arises to contribute to excellent translational immunology research in a superb academic setting. You will join a thriving, internationally recognised team focused on inborn errors of immunity and their therapy, led by Prof Sophie Hambleton. We share bespoke lab space with a diverse community of researchers in the Immunity and Inflammation Theme, housed in the Leech Building at the heart of Newcastle’s Medical School.

In this project, funded by MRC as part of a randomised controlled clinical trial, we are investigating immune reconstitution after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for inborn errors of immunity. The trial compares standard matched donor transplantation with a different strategy, in which T-cell depleted mismatched transplants are supplemented by a novel adjunctive cellular therapy, “memory T cell addback”. Specifically, we hypothesise that T cell addback will lead to earlier reconstitution of antiviral T cell responses and thus protection from infection-related complications without incurring additional risks of graft-versus-host-disease. Confirmation of this effect could open the door to a new “universal donor” transplant strategy with a sizeable clinical impact. The trial is recruiting to target, meaning that longitudinal sampling will be completed well within the tenure of this post.

Your role will be to complete the longitudinal immunophenotyping of patient samples by spectral flow cytometry and perform integrative analysis of the overall results in R. You will further apply BD Rhapsody proteotranscriptomic profiling to explore the TCR usage and clonality of viral specific cells in the reconstituting T cell compartment by comparison with graft material. There may also be opportunities for further characterisation of the CD45RA-depleted “T cell addback”. Training and support in single cell analysis will be available but a high level of competence in spectral flow cytometry (including panel design and trouble-shooting) as well as associated bioinformatic analysis in R are essential.

We follow the Researcher Development Concordat: Researcher Development | Our Research | Newcastle University. We enable all colleagues to fulfil their research potential regardless of career stage. This commitment secures our thriving research culture and a vibrant research environment. Our offer to each individual includes mentoring, annual researcher development discussions, pooled funding to support career development, and peer review support for the development of research and innovation funding applications.

We are keen to hear from those with a passion for translational science and the ability to interact and engage with specialists from diverse perspectives. The present post is funded until 31 August 2028. As an MRC-funded role, the successful applicant may be eligible for the Endorsed Funder Route of the Global Talent Visa. We can provide an interest free loan scheme to support applicants who need to apply for a visa.

How to apply – please provide your CV and a cover letter setting out your motivation for applying, your career intentions and evidencing how you meet the essential criteria. Interviews will be held in September 2026 with a start date of 1 October or as soon as possible thereafter.

Key Accountabilities

• Research Assistant: Collect, analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes.
• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, use problem solving to affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project(s).
• Present information on research progress and outcomes to a Principal Investigator or groups overseeing the research project.
• Write up results from own research activity and provide input into the research project’s dissemination, in whatever form (report, papers, chapters, books).
• Use research resources (including, where required, laboratories, workshops and specialist equipment) as appropriate.

• Research Associate: Contribute ideas, including enhancements to the technical or methodological aspects of the project.
• Determine appropriate methodologies for research.
• Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations.
• Contribute to the writing up of the research and its dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications.
• Present research findings, either at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline.
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and develop own research objectives and proposals for funding.

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Research Assistant: Detailed knowledge of immunobiology including T cell development and differentiation.
• Proven proficiency in flow cytometry including design and set up of spectral flow panels, AIM assays, intracellular cytokine staining and analysis of large datasets in R.
• Familiarity with concepts relevant to single cell proteogenomic work and willingness to train in the application of BD Rhapsody.
• Attention to detail and ability to work at high levels of accuracy.
• Ability to present complex information effectively to a range of audiences.
• Proven ability to analyse data and write-up results.
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues.
• Excellent IT skills in all major office applications.
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems.

• In addition for Research Associate: Awareness of the research environment.
• High level of analytical and problem solving capacity.
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity.
• Experience of presentations at conferences and/or in high quality publications.

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to working positively as a member of a multi-skilled research team.
• Ability to negotiate and prioritise multiple, competing responsibilities and to work to deadlines.
• Commitment to continued professional development.
• Understanding of good practice in equality, inclusion and diversity.

Qualifications

• Research Assistant: Honours degree in a biomedical subject and expectation of receiving PhD in immunity/inflammation or other relevant topic within 6 months of start date.
• Research Associate: PhD in immunity/inflammation or other relevant topic.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.