Researcher 1A – 0.8fte (FTC 27 Months)

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Glasgow Caledonian – the largest and leading modern university in Scotland - is a vibrant, values-led university with campuses in the heart of Glasgow and London. With a strong commitment to high quality education and research which supports the communities we serve, we have strong partnerships with employers to ensure our students get the careers they dream of and deserve.

In 2023 we rocketed into the top 40 universities in the UK in the highly regarded Guardian University Guide, were ranked the UK’s 2nd top performing modern university in the inaugural Daily Mail guide, and entered the top highly coveted 50 UK universities in the 2024 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the first time. We are the top performing modern University in Scotland in all three guides. We are the only Scottish university with EcoCampus Platinum accreditation and were ranked second in Scotland for sustainability in the most recent People and Planet league table.

With a wide range of professionally accredited courses and links with over 300 industry partners, we have the highest proportion of undergraduate level graduates in highly skilled occupations (83%) compared to other Scottish modern universities - with 91% of our students in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA 2023). We are Scotland’s leading provider of Graduate Apprenticeships and we have transnational partnerships around the world, supporting more than 22,000 students from nearly 120 countries.  We are committed to widening participation, helping more people from diverse backgrounds into university.

Guided by our values – integrity, responsibility, creativity and confidence - we transform the lives of the people and communities we serve.

GCU boasts a collegial and collaborative research atmosphere, and conducts internationally excellent health-related research with outstanding research impact (as assessed in REF2021). Our organisational strategy is aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and our globally recognised researchers advise governments, industry and international bodies. The advertised Researcher 1A will join a growing core of researchers focused on immune-oncology within the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at GCU. Research on the project would also be conducted at the CRUK Scotland Institute, utilising some of the world-leading cancer research facilities there to bolster the potential of the project.

Project Outline:

A Medical Research Council-funded Postdoctoral Research Scientist position (‘Researcher 1A’) is offered to support ongoing p53 immuno-oncology research directed by Dr Timothy Humpton and Dr Jennifer Crowe. The project will be based at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) but will include a significant research component based at the CRUK Scotland Institute (also in Glasgow). In addition, the advertised position will provide a unique leadership role helping to direct an ambitious in vivo-led project with important translational potential. The position is offered as a 0.8 FTE post (4 days per week) for a 27-month fixed-term contract with starting salary equivalent to £37,099 pa (1.0 FTE).

Liver cancer is a common and lethal disease. As a result of the obesity epidemic, diet-induced liver disease (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis / MASH) represents an increasingly common cause of liver cancer. Worryingly, MASH-derived liver cancer can be resistant to therapy and is especially common in obese patients that also have type 2 diabetes mellitus. In MASH, an undue persistence of neutrophils has been shown to promote the development of treatment-resistant liver cancer in humans. Our preliminary findings suggest that the tumour suppressor p53 protects against the development of diet-induced MASH—and does so, at least in part, via neutrophil suppression.

 

 

With the proposed project, the appointed researcher will investigate p53-mediated non-cell autonomous suppression of neutrophils in MASH-T2DM. To do so, they will utilise a suite of advanced technologies, including in vivo modelling, non-invasive imaging, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, transcriptomics, and in vitro co-culture using patient-derived samples. With these tools, the appointed researcher will help to characterise the relationship between p53 and neutrophil activity throughout diet-induced liver disease, determine the mechanisms that underpin this interaction, and examine the efficacy of proactively targeting neutrophils to prevent MASH.

Relevant recent publications from the group include:

Wittke et al. (2024) Preprint on BioRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.20.594983

Humpton et al. Science Signaling (2022). DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abd9099.

Humpton et al. Cell Death & Differentiation (2021). DOI:10.1038/s41418-021-00871-3.

Humpton et al. Genes Dev. (2021). DOI: 10.1101/gad.341875.120.

Candidate:

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant field (or a PhD shortly to be awarded), strong working knowledge of cancer biology, immunology, metabolic syndrome, or molecular mechanisms of disease and be a passionate and motivated scientist. The position will provide a unique leadership role helping to direct an ambitious in vivo-led project. As such, previous experience working with the key advanced technologies of the project, and especially with in vivo models of disease, advanced imaging techniques, flow cytometry, histopathology, bioinformatics, and/or metabolomics would be advantageous. However, extensive training will be provided.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Humpton (timothy.humpton@gcu.ac.uk).

As the University for the Common Good, we are committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as our values in everything that we do.  As such, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates who demonstrate the GCU Values.

Glasgow Caledonian University is committed to a fair and transparent recruitment process that is free from bias so that we can attract and retain a high performing workforce which makes a critical contribution to our success​.

The University holds the prestigious Athena SWAN Silver institution award, which recognises our significant record of activity and achievement in promoting gender equality across different disciplines.

As a Disability Confident 'Committed' employer, we are striving to ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to disabled people. Although the Disability Confident 'Committed' level does not guarantee an interview for disabled applicants, we will make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants during the recruitment process.

The University also holds the Carer Positive ‘Engaged’ employer award, which recognises our commitment to supporting staff with caring responsibilities.

Glasgow Caledonian University are committed signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant. 

The University offers a range of benefits including opportunities for professional development, family friendly policies, cycle to work scheme and onsite childcare facilities.

Please note that the appointment will be made on the first point of the salary scale (unless by exception).