Total 7 Junior Executive level Science / R&D / Research job vacancies in Edinburgh

Grade UE04 - £24,533 - £27,181 per annum
College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine - Clinical Sciences
Full time - 35 hours per week
Fixed terrm contract - 2 years

The Opportunity:

We are seeking an Administrative Assistant to join the MND-SMART clinical trial management team. The post-holder will provide administrative support to the trial management team to ensure that the study runs efficiently and vital documents are prepared and stored according to strict governance requirements.

Duties will include filing, photocopying, scanning and document organisation; meeting organisation; travel booking; dealing with email and phone enquiries; maintaining stocks of consumables; data entry. The post-holder will gain experience in clinical trial management.

MND-SMART is the largest-ever clinical drugs trial for motor neuron disease in the UK. It is open at 22 sites across the UK and has recruited over 850 people.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week) and based on-campus at Edinburgh BioQuarter.

Your skills and attributes for success:

Previous experience working in an office or data management environment
Experience with Microsoft 365 software and confidence to learn new IT systems
Organised and able to prioritise tasks effectively
Excellent attention to detail; able and willing to work in accordance with strictly defined procedures
Informal enquiries should be sent to Judith Newton, Anne Rowling Clinic Deputy Director, on Judith.Newton@ed.ac.uk.

UE02- £21,978-£22,134

Public Engagement, Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Full Time- 35 hours per week

Fixed Term- Until 31st March 2025


We are looking for a recent school, FE college or university leaver to provide scientific technical support for the Roslin Institute’s award-winning Public Engagement with Research (PER) programme. The role is based in the Roslin Institute Public Engagement team at the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Campus, and most of the PER programme is delivered on campus at the Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre (EBSOC), a laboratory space purpose-built for public engagement.


The Opportunity:

This role is a unique opportunity to support the Roslin Institute’s award-winning PER programme, which aligns with and is supported by strategic research funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. This funding supports research into genes and traits for healthy animals, and prevention and control of infectious diseases, allowing Roslin’s experts to develop the Institute’s overall research themes of sustainable agriculture, controlling diseases and enhancing health.

The PER programme includes in-person and online activities for primary, secondary and international schools, FE colleges, adult learners and teachers; as well as events for community groups and the wider public.

The job will involve supporting the delivery of up to three activities per week, most of which are based on campus at the Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre (www.ebsoc.ed.ac.uk), a purpose-built engagement laboratory where we deliver a variety of hands-on science workshops to school pupils and the wider public.

The job will initially focus on technical and administrative tasks in the Easter Bush Outreach Centre; as you develop in the role you will also be supported to get involved in the delivery of our PER programme.

You will need to be interested in science, and enthusiastic about hands-on learning and science engagement. Successful candidates will have basic laboratory skills in biology and/or chemistry and a strong interest in developing these skills further, as well as good all-round communication skills.


Your skills and attributes for success:

-Demonstrable interest in biology and/or animal science
-Enthusiastic, reliable and willing to learn new skills
-Good written and oral communication skills
-Experience of high school level laboratory work and basic laboratory skills
-Ability to work in a team and develop good working relationships with colleagues

UE06: £32,982.00 - £38,205.00 Per Annum.

CMVM / MGPHS / USHER Institute.

Fixed Term - available from from 1st October 2024 - for 12 months in the first instance.

Full Time - 35 hours per week.

Location: Usher Building, 5-7 Little France Road, Edinburgh BioQuarter - Gate 3, Edinburgh, EH16 4UX

The Centre for Population Health Sciences at the Usher Institute, within The University of Edinburgh, is looking for a Research Assistant to work on a range of high impact and innovative research projects. The main project this post will support is an MRC PHIND (Medical Research Council, Public Health Intervention Development Study) study to prevent vaping in young people. In addition to this, the post holder will support other projects which are part of the research team’s portfolio. Currently this includes: a process evaluation of a paracetamol overdose study; prevention of gambling harm in secondary schools; and a feasibility study to support people in recovery from problematic drug or alcohol use to cut down or stop smoking.

The Opportunity:

This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated and pro-active individual to gain research, project management, and topic expertise in applied public health research. Working with a highly experienced team of academics and third sector colleagues, the successful candidate will gain applied experience in complex health behaviour change intervention design and evaluation, particularly process evaluation. The successful candidate will require research skills in conducting and analysing qualitative or quantitative research and report writing. In addition to this, they will also have strong organisational skills to set up and co-ordinate team members to assist with fieldwork. You will have a Masters degree in a relevant area and be able to demonstrate initiative, resourcefulness and a proactive approach to help plan and conduct original research with a range of stakeholders.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Fiona Dobbie, Senior Lecturer and Director of Research for the Usher Institute, fiona.dobbie@ed.ac.uk

We will consider requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular (weekly) on-campus working. The Usher Institute expects a minimum of 40% on-campus working.

Your skills and attributes for success:
• Ability to work as part of multidisciplinary team
• Ability to work alongside people from marginalized or underserved groups
• Ability to work independently but to know when to ask for help and support
• To have a genuine interest in applied public health research and willingness to develop skills in research, analysis and dissemination.

Grade UE06: £31,396 to £36,024 per annum (A revised salary range for this grade of £32,982 to £38,205 is planned to take effect from Spring 2024)
College of Science and Engineering/School of Biological Sciences/Institute of Cell Biology
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed-term: for 12 months



We are looking for a research assistant for a period of 12 months to work on the structural biology of the synaptonemal complex in Dr Owen Davies’ laboratory in the University of Edinburgh.



The Opportunity:

The synaptonemal complex is a supramolecular protein structure that assembles during meiosis to facilitate homologous chromosome synapsis and crossover formation. This position will study the integrative structural and cellular biology of the human synaptonemal complex, using techniques that include cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, biophysics, computation, mammalian cell culture and cellular imaging. The successful candidate will establish new projects, individually and in collaboration with other members of the laboratory. This position provides a unique opportunity for a highly enthusiastic graduate to develop their skills and gain experience in structural and cellular biology prior to undertaking a doctoral research programme.

Please contact Dr Owen Davies (owen.davies@ed.ac.uk) for further details and informal discussions about the role.

Your skills and attributes for success:

Interest in the structure of the synaptonemal complex
Interest in using structural approaches to solve fundamental problems of cell biology
Motivation to adopt integrative research approaches
Clear desire to undertake a PhD in a related area
Drive to learn new research techniques

UE02: £21,900 per annum

Public Engagement, Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Full time - 35 hours per week

Contract type - Fixed term, funding available until 31 March 2025





We are looking for an enthusiastic individual wanting to build their scientific and communication skills by supporting the Roslin Institute’s award-winning Public Engagement with Research (PER) programme. The role is based in the Roslin Institute Public Engagement team at the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Campus, and most of the PER programme is delivered on campus at the Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre (EBSOC), a laboratory space purpose-built for public engagement.



This post is an ideal opportunity for a recent school or college leaver, or an individual returning to work or making a career change, who is keen to gain experience in a scientific support role and build their technical and communication skills before pursuing higher education and/or further work in science.



The Opportunity:

This role is a unique opportunity to support the Roslin Institute’s award-winning PER programme, which aligns with and is supported by strategic research funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. This funding supports research into genes and traits for healthy animals, and prevention and control of infectious diseases, allowing Roslin’s experts to develop the Institute’s overall research themes of sustainable agriculture, controlling diseases and enhancing health.



The PER programme includes in-person and online activities for primary, secondary and international schools, FE colleges, adult learners and teachers; as well as events for community groups and the wider public.



The job will involve supporting the delivery of up to three activities per week, most of which are based on campus at the Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre, a purpose-built engagement laboratory where we deliver a variety of hands-on science workshops to school pupils and the wider public.



The job will initially focus on technical and administrative tasks in the Easter Bush Outreach Centre; as you develop in the role you will also be supported to get involved in the delivery of our PER programme.



You will need to be interested in science, and enthusiastic about hands-on learning and science engagement. Successful candidates will have basic laboratory skills in biology and/or chemistry and a strong interest in developing these skills further, and good all-round communication skills.



Your skills and attributes for success:

Demonstrable interest in biology and/or animal science
Enthusiastic, reliable and willing to learn
Good written and oral communication skills
Experience of high school level laboratory work and basic laboratory skills
Ability to develop good working relationships with colleagues

UE06, £31,316 - £36,024
CMVM, Deanery of Clinical Sciences, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
Full time, 35 hours per week
12 months

The Opportunity:
We are looking for a highly motivated research assistant to process and analyse magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data in studies of multiple sclerosis (MS).

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), however, we are open to considering flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.

Your skills and attributes for success:
• Knowledge of some structural brain MRI data analysis methods e.g. for white matter lesions or brain volume
• Knowledge of neuroanatomy as displayed on brain imaging
• Knowledge of structural MRI sequences commonly used in neuroimaging studies

Grade 6, salary range: £31,396- £36,024

College of Science and Engineering, School of Informatics

Full time 35 hours per week

Fixed term for 24 months

1 post available

The School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh and the Institute of Design Informatics invites applications for a two-year, postdoctoral research assistant (PDRA) to examine the links between the culture wars and platform politics. The PDRA will investigate the intensifying online hostility that is setting local and national green initiatives and UK environmental policies against car use and civil liberties. With the project-lead, Dr Alex Taylor, the PDRA will help kick-start a project seeking to understand the extent to which digital platforms are woven into a polarised politics that jeopardises the UK’s progress towards climate goals and intensifies divisions between already fractured communities across the county. The research from this project will be used to inform design and policy guidance for internet platform providers and regulatory bodies.

The Opportunity:

This post is advertised as full-time (35 hours per week), however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.

The successful candidate will have:

Degree in appropriate field
Research experience studying technology enabled communities and/or online behaviour


Candidates should also be able to demonstrate:

A PhD in Anthropology, HCI/CSCW, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, or similar
Critical thinking with a focus on the relations between technology and society/culture
An understanding of current debates and policies connected to climate change
Ability to conduct self-motivated research
Ability to produce high quality written outputs
Recruitment will aim at selecting those candidates with the best possible performance in these criteria.