Research Assistant in Cancer Biology

About the role

As a Research Assistant, you will join a highly collaborative team at the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre (SDDC) under the supervision of Prof Erika Mancini and Dr Antony Oliver to deliver a pilot project funded by Blood Cancer UK. The project centres on validating a novel therapeutic strategy for a high-risk subset of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Your primary focus will be generating the critical pilot and mechanism-of-action datasets needed to support a major translational drug discovery grant submission. 

Working under the direct supervision of senior lab members, you will execute standardized, pre-optimized protocols to include: culturing and maintaining a panel of leukaemia cell models to map drug efficacy via cell viability and clonogenic survival assays, executing target knockdown experiments, and conducting combination drug screening. You will also characterize how inhibitors induce cell death by running molecular and cell biology assays, including tracking cell cycle arrest, measuring markers of DNA damage via microscopy and flow cytometry, and using Western blotting to monitor protein expression pathways. Ultimately, you will take ownership of running these standardized, pre-optimized protocols to deliver robust quantitative data package endpoints within the project timeframe. 

About you

Ideally, you will have a Master’s degree in a relevant field such as molecular biology, cell biology, cancer biology or biochemistry, though a BSc degree combined with equivalent practical laboratory experience will also be considered. You will possess the practical technical skills required to perform standard cellular and molecular biology assays, including cell culture, viability screenings, and protein analysis.

You must be an organized individual with the skills to manage your own workload effectively to meet project deadlines. Excellent communication skills are essential, as you will interact regularly with line management and scientific collaborators within the research team. Experience in handling and maintaining cancer cell lines is highly desirable.

About our School

In the School of Life Sciences we strive to understand the mechanisms that drive biological and chemical processes and to develop innovative and diverse approaches to enhance human health, technology and the environment. We undertake multidisciplinary research, teaching and engagement across a wide range of subjects, from Chemistry through Cellular and Molecular Biosciences to Conservation Biology. 

The School comprises five Departments: Biochemistry & Biomedicine, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Neuroscience, Ecology & Evolution and Chemistry. We also house the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre which works to deliver the bench-to-bedside translation of our discoveries. The breadth and depth of our cutting-edge research and innovative teaching practice is delivered by a diverse community who work across boundaries to deliver excellence, engage with real world problems and produce impact. 

We pride ourselves on our world-leading research and have a strong research economy, with approximately 50% of our income stemming from research and an active grant portfolio of over £50 million. We host or form part of three University Centres of Excellence: the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex Neuroscience and Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 90.6 % of our Biological Sciences outputs and 84.8% of our Chemistry outputs were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are proud that in both areas, 100% of our Impact cases were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The School is committed to the University’s core values of kindness, integrity, inclusion, collaboration and courage. We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and aim to provide a friendly and supportive environment for all who work, study and visit the School of Life Sciences. 

Please find further information regarding the School of Life Sciences on our website.

The School of Life Sciences is proud to hold a Silver Athena Swann Award. 

The School of Life Sciences is part of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Why work here

Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme.  

Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it’s our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that. 

Find out more about our reward and benefits package. 

Find out about our equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Further Key Information 

Please contact Erika Mancini (em420@sussex.ac.uk) or Antony Oliver (ao218@sussex.ac.uk) for informal enquires.

The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex. 

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Eligibility

Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. The assigned SOC code is 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified and the going rate is £41,500. Eligibility for sponsorship will depend on whether a candidate can make use of tradeable points to meet the salary offered and whether the candidate holds an existing Skilled Worker sponsorship which began before 4 April 2024.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK. 

Attachments

Closing Date

June 12, 2026 4:29 AM

Expected Interview Date

To Be Confirmed.

Expected Start Date

As Soon as Possible.

Fixed Term Contract Duration

Fixed Term for 9 months.

If you are experiencing any issues using our application portal or if you require adjustments to be made to the selection process, please contact us on (01273) 873743 or recruitmentadministration@sussex.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.