Research Assistant in childhood cancer genomics

Salary: £33,002 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: 08 October 2025

The Role

In this role, you will join the research team of Dr Sarra Ryan in the use of ultra-long-reads and hybrid sequencing approaches to explore highly repetitive DNA sequence in relation to genomic instability in childhood cancer. Highly repetitive DNA is impossible to resolve using conventional short-read sequencing technologies. Your role will facilitate the identification of novel genetic variation in poorly explored genomic regions, and in relation to specific forms of genomic instability and cancer development.

You will work closely with internal and external collaborators to develop laboratory protocols to produce ultra-long reads and sequencing data produced from long read (such as Oxford Nanopore Technologies, PacBio) and short read (Illumina) technologies. Furthermore, you will facilitate the bioinformatic analysis of the data with support from bioinformaticians and biostatisticians within the group. The bioinformatic work will be performed using high performance cloud computing solutions.

This project offers the opportunity to utilise emerging sequencing approaches and develop novel laboratory and bioinformatic approaches for the detection of novel genetic variants in cancer patients.  

This appointment is a fixed term post for 18 months from 1st November 2025 until 30th April 2027.

For informal enquiries contact: Dr Sarra Ryan (sarra.ryan@newcastle.ac.uk)

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/  

Find out more about our Research Institutes here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/institutes/ 

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Key Accountabilities

• Contribution to the research programme of the School/Institute under the clear guidance of a member of an academic staff or Principal Investigator

• Use initiative and creativity to analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes

• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, deal with problems which may 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, book)

• Work to deadlines and manage, with support, competing priorities
• Ensure that personal knowledge in relevant fields of study is kept up to date

• Use research resources (including, where required, laboratories, workshops and specialist equipment) as appropriate

• Maintain academic standards and freedom, and work in accordance with university policies (e.g. equal opportunities, health and safety policies)

• Possible supervision and demonstration duties within undergraduate laboratories and example classes or in teaching small seminar classes

• Undertake relevant training and development activities to develop capacity for taking on wider responsibilities

• Develop, with advice, an awareness of own professional development needs and a personal development strategy

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Some subject knowledge in the relevant area

• Good level of analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex information clearly, both orally and through the written word

• The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems

• Practical experience with ultra-long and long-read sequencing technologies
• Experience with extracting, handling, quantifying and quality checking high molecular weight DNA (HMW DNA) and preparing HMW DNA for ultra-long sequencing protocols
• Detailed knowledge of cancer genomics and key drivers in cancer development
• Experience with extracting HMW DNA from cell lines and patient material (i.e. blood, tissue)
• Some bioinformatic experience for the analysis of sequencing data, and experienced in the use high-performance cloud computing solutions

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent communication skills and good attention to detail
• Enthusiastic, well-motivated and committed to continued professional development

Qualifications

• Good honours degree (or equivalent) with some subject knowledge in molecular biology, bioinformatics or cancer genetics
• May possess (or be working towards) a higher research degree

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 silver 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 REC.  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. 

Requisition ID: 28628