Research Scientist and Research assistant positions
Leveraging a dispruptive protein degrading technology
Exciting Research Scientist and Research Assistant positions funded by Enterprise Ireland
through the Commercialisation Fund programme awarded to Dr. Hilary McMahon,
University College Dublin (UCD), are now available at UCD. This is the first phase in the
exciting development of work towards the commercialisation of a ground breaking
disruptive solution which aims to develop towards a spin out company. The Research
Scientist’s and Assistant’s existing experience should be aligned with this development.
The projected programme merges microbial enzyme production with protein destruction
and will put into development a powerful platform protease technology to reduce
contamination risk for the healthcare/hospital/clinical sector. We have filed patent on this
technology in multiple countries. In this first phase, the work programme direction will
focus on the scale up of recombinant microbial protease production, technology
development and testing. The research scientist must have excellent competency in
molecular skills and enzyme/protein production in fermentation and must have a very good
understanding of fermentation scaleup.
The protease technology being developed in this work destroys the most difficult to degrade
protein, the prion, under mild conditions. The prion sticks like glue to surgical equipment
and it cannot be removed by standard cleaning practises used in hospitals. The prion is the
agent of vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) which originated from Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE). vCJD is a risk for the hospital sector, we know that there is a
significant number of anonymous asymptomatic carriers of vCJD and managing this risk has
been demanding and unique. Sporadic CJD is also a transmission concern. Currently, CJD is a
persistent contamination transmission risk for the hospital sector.
Closing date for applications: 17:00hrs (local Irish time) on 15th August 2019.
Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications
which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs (Local Irish Time) on the specified
closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late
applications.
Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be
obtained from the Work at UCD website: https://www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/
Job Reference number for Research Scientist post: 011667
Job Reference number for Research Assistant post: 011164