PDRA

The Department of Biosciences is composed of 62 academic staff and research fellows; around 50 research and technical support staff; over 90 Research Postgraduate students and over 500 Single Honours undergraduate students, and also teaches students from the Natural Sciences programme. The Department is committed to an ethos of research-led teaching at both BSc and MBiol levels, and was ranked 4th in the UK for Biological Sciences Departments in the Complete University Guide 2027. The Department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award.

Join us as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant at the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter. At the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter, we are interested in understanding, designing and building natural and artificial bionanomachines. We ask – can we design artificial versions of such machines to carry out processes not available or possible in nature? The ability to design functional, dynamic proteins will revolutionise medicine. It will mean new capabilities in vaccines and drug delivery including nanoscale medicine that can be programmed and can self-propel.

Project: ENGINEERING PROGRAMMABLE DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR MITOCHONDRIA

This post forms part of a major ARIA-funded multidisciplinary programme aimed at transforming mitochondria into programmable entities. The successful candidate will join the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter at Durham University and lead the development of engineered protein nanocages for the delivery of molecular cargoes to mitochondria. The project will build on our established TRAP-cage platform, an ultra-stable, self-assembling protein nanostructure that can encapsulate biological cargoes and release them in response to defined environmental triggers.

The research will involve the design, construction and characterisation of artificial proteins capable of recognizing and transporting cargoes across cellular barriers. Approaches will include protein engineering, AI-enabled protein design, synthetic biology, recombinant protein production, biophysical characterisation, microscopy and the development of novel cargo-targeting strategies.

The postholder will work closely with a consortium spanning mitochondrial genetics, nanotechnology, extracellular vesicle engineering and synthetic biology. They will contribute to the development of next-generation technologies for mitochondrial manipulation, generating fundamental insights and enabling future therapeutic applications.

This role will be based on-site, at the Department of Chemistry, Durham University, in newly refurbished labs with state-of-the-art equipment. Full-time for 15 months.

Key Responsibilities:
- Understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team through presentations and discussions leading to research papers at conferences and in publications.
- Prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences including research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
- Publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator.
- Assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
- Conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator.
- Work with the Principal Investigator and other colleagues to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
- Deal with problems affecting the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator and offering creative or innovative solutions.
- Liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding and form relationships for future research collaboration.
- Plan and manage own research activity and research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
- Deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
- Be involved in student supervision as appropriate and assist with the assessment of the knowledge of students.
- Contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming.
- Engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
- Engage in continuing professional development by participation in teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees and by attending relevant training and development courses.

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications:
1. A good first degree in Biological sciences, including but not limited to protein chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology, computational biology, computer sciences, natural sciences, or mathematics.
2. A PhD (or be close to submission) in structural biology, protein engineering, or a related subject.

Experience:
3. Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
4. Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
5. A proven track record in working with AI-enabled protein design tools, preferably in a laboratory environment specialised in these tools.
6. Experienced practitioner who has led teaching/research projects working within an educational, commercial or industrial environment.
7. Experience of implementing policies and procedures.

Skills:
8. Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
9. Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
10. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable Criteria:
- Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.
- Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.
- Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including digital communication tools and AI-based protein design tools.
- Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
- Committed to continuing professional development to maintain professional recognition.
- Ability to solve problems and decide on and plan appropriate solutions.
- Ability to teach or train others with specific technical skills.
- Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
- Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills, e.g. acting as a demonstrator or supervising student projects.

Benefits:
- 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days (42 days total).
- Generous pension scheme; new staff automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
- Ample parking across campus, cycle to work scheme, discounts with local bus and train companies.
- Tusker Car Benefit Scheme for leasing electric or hybrid vehicles with tax and National Insurance savings.
- Comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications.
- Wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
- On-site nursery rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and holiday camps for children aged 5–16.
- Generous family-friendly policies including maternity and adoption leave.
- Volunteering opportunities in the local community.
- Exclusive discounts via benefits portal.
- Help with removal costs and support for relocating staff.
- Visa costs covered for eligible roles and interest-free loan scheme for dependant visas.