Research Officer

Attractive Salary $101,035 – $108,451 per annum + Super

3 Year Contract

Looking to transform child health worldwide in a unique way?

What’s in it for you?

Maximise your pay through salary packaging including entertainment and novated leases

Flexible Working Options

Wonderful onsite facilities available – gym, childcare, cafes, hotel, shops, and bar

Charming location near the Melbourne Zoo and Royal Park – excellent space to spend your break!

The opportunity:

The Blood Program with the reNEW centre for Stem Cell Medicine at MCRI focusses on the generation of human blood cells from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), with the key objective of developing new treatments for currently intractable diseases of the human blood system. The program encompasses three research groups (Blood Development, Blood Disease and Immune Development) that use PSCs to investigate the development of blood cells, their potential for creating novel therapies, and their involvement in human disease.

This position is for a junior postdoctoral fellow with experience in both pluripotent stem cell differentiation to haematopoietic lineages and expertise in the bioinformatic analysis of differentiating haematopoietic populations. They will explore the transcriptional and chromatin responses to cytokine administration and withdrawal at different stages during the in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to haemogenic endothelium and haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. It is envisaged that the project could also include the dissection of the process by which specific lineages develop from a stem cell pool or comparisons between normal differentiation and cancer or bone marrow failure.

It is anticipated that the work done will contribute to the ability to generate cells for therapy or to model haematopoietic disease with a view to developing new therapeutic strategies.

Your responsibilities include:

Culture and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. Working with the human model system will be taught, across several differentiation platforms

Undertake flow cytometry analysis of blood cells generated in vitro and arising following transplantation

Undertake RNAseq and ATACseq analysis of haematopoietic cells generated in vitro or arising following transplantation

Apply these tools and techniques to stages of HSPC differentiation, or lymphoid or myeloid lineages during differentiation

About you:

Experience in culture and haematopoietic differentiation of pluripotent stem cells

PhD qualification in science or related discipline

Demonstrated capacity to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment

Excellent time management, organisational and analytical problem-solving skills

Who we are

At Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, we share a powerful vision; to re-imagine the future of child health. We are the home to many life-changing scientific discoveries. We are renowned for our cutting-edge focus on early interventions, improved diagnosis, prevention, and development of potential cures. Our success is founded on a philosophy of collaboration through a multi-disciplinary approach to solving the toughest questions in child health. Murdoch Children’s is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity, equity and respect that celebrates and values the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our people. We strive to foster a positive working environment that is underpinned by equal opportunity for all and consideration for the diverse voices of our people and the communities we serve. Murdoch Children’s is a proud member of the Australian Network on Disability and is a committed subscriber to Science Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) and its principles.

To be considered, applicants should submit:

Cover letter

Resume

Responses to what we need from you via the position description

Please submit your application in one combined pdf document.

For more information, please refer to the position description.

We welcome all genders, ages, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, abilities, religions and sexual orientations in our workplace and encourage talented people of any identity to apply to our vacancies. We will provide reasonable adjustments in our recruitment process and in the workplace, please contact the People Leader listed above if this is needed.

All applicants, please be aware that in line with the Murdoch Children’s and VCGS COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all Murdoch Children’s and VCGS workers must be fully vaccinated (boosted), unless a valid medical exception applies.

Please note, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

Closing date: 6 April