Research Assistant

The post-holder will be responsible for the maintenance of the Schistosoma life cycle, which is an integral part of the SSR. This will involve the general maintenance of intermediate host snails, small rodent infections and procedures, preparation of Schistosoma parasite material for research and as a supply to the wider research community. They will be responsible for scheduling infections, material harvesting, animal orders which is all time critical, whilst also leading the data management in relation to the species and strains involved and the productivity of the life-cycle system. This post will also design and lead small research projects to advance current methodologies used with an aim of reducing animal use and enhancing efficient working practices, SSR products and outputs. Other key responsibilities will be working closely with the Natural History Museum and the technical staff member responsible for snail population enhancement and maintenance, and to test protocol
refinements to improve efficiency and reduce animal use. Furthermore, the post will liaise with SSR users and clients to fulfil their product requests.

We are seeking a highly pro-active candidate with a minimum of a BSc level in biology, parasitology or relevant technology discipline including experimental animal work. They do need to have established experience of working with schistosomes and snails (both in the lab. and in the field) as they will not only carry out the routine tasks but will also advance/optimize the methods used whilst enhancing its outputs/potential. They also need to confidently be able to carry out experimental animal procedures. This includes working with small parasitic worms (Schistosoma species) and working in Category 2 containment facilities. They would also ideally have some experience of teaching at the MSc level. Further particulars can be found in the job description.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one of the world's leading public health universities. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

This is a part-time post at 0.6 - 0.8 FTE, within the Wellcome Trust Funded Biomedical Resource project: Schistosome and Snail resource (SSR), supporting global schistosomiasis research. The SSR is a joint project between the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with this advertised post based at the LSHTM, London.
The salary will be on the Academic Pathway Grade 5 scale in the range £39,182 - £44,847 per annum pro rata (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary "Wellbeing Days". Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London at LSHTM.
Applications should be made on-line via our jobs website. Online applications will be accepted by the automated system until 10pm of the closing date. Any queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk. Please quote reference ITD-CRD-2024-12.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as "Please see attached CV" will not be considered acceptable.
Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.

Further details: Job Description