Research Associate in Cell Culture Screening of Proteins and Nanomaterials

Grade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum

College of Science and Engineering / School of Engineering

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: for up to 24 months

Where curiosity becomes impact

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The University of Edinburgh is a world-class organisation. We look for the best in the field across all disciplines and provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their chosen subject area. We offer the full range of academic roles and have a genuine focus on our students performance and wellbeing.

Join a world-leading research community at the University of Edinburgh, where ambitious interdisciplinary research is translated into new approaches to major scientific and societal challenges.

The Opportunity:

Develop next-generation magnetic nanoparticle technologies for drug delivery to the CNS. This is an academic research role.

The School of Engineering seeks to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cell Culture Screening of Proteins and Nanomaterials to contribute to an Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)-funded project on targeted drug transport to the Central Nervous System (CNS). The post will be supervised by Prof Guangzhao Mao and will involve close collaboration with Prof Michael Chen and Dr Jamie Marland in the School of Engineering, Prof Giles Hardingham in the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, and other ARIA project partners.

The successful candidate will develop and operate microfluidic platforms for mammalian cell culture and biological assay development, with a particular focus on primary neurons and applications in nanomaterial screening and CNS delivery. The role will combine mammalian cell culture, biological assays, fluorescence microscopy, and quantitative image and data analysis to investigate protein and nanoparticle movement within and across cells and nanomaterial-cell interactions relevant to the CNS.

Applicants should have, or be within three months of completing, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, or a closely related discipline. Expertise in mammalian cell culture, including primary neurons, biological assays, fluorescence microscopy and quantitative image/data analysis is particularly relevant. Knowledge of molecular and cellular neuroscience and experience or a strong interest in nanomaterial-cell interactions are also valuable.

We are looking for a motivated researcher with expertise in neuronal cell culture, microfluidic assay development and quantitative cellular analysis to join this collaborative ARIA-funded programme.

This post is full-time. The role is primarily laboratory-based on the University of Edinburgh campus.

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As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 5 October 2026.

Unless stated otherwise, the closing time for applications is 11:59 pm (UK time). If you are applying from outside the UK, the closing time shown on our adverts will automatically adjust to your browser’s local time zone.