Research Fellow

**Job no**:0058680
**Location**:Parkville
**Role type**:Full time; Fixed-term for 12 months
**Faculty**:Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences
**Department/School**:Department of Clinical Pathology, Melbourne Medical School
**Salary**:Level A - $77,171 - $104,717 p.a. plus 17% super

The University of Melbourne would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung Peoples, the Yorta Yorta Nation, the Dja Dja Wurrung People. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet and learn was the place of age-old ceremonies, of celebration, initiation and renewal, and that the local Aboriginal Peoples have had and continue to have a unique role in the life of these lands.

**About - Department of Clinical Pathology**

The Department of Clinical Pathology focuses on graduate learning and teaching, research and engagement in the clinical discipline of pathology. The Department is located at the Parkville campus with offices in the state of the art Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) building.

Whilst the initial research focus of the MMS Department of Clinical Pathology is cancer research it also has a more generalist remit for graduate learning and teaching and engagement across the broader areas of clinical pathology. The Department of Clinical Pathology teaches into the Melbourne Medical School’s flagship course, the Doctor of Medicine and has thriving Honours, Masters and PhD student cohorts.

**About - Tumour Heterogeneity in Metastatic Cancer Laboratory**
This laboratory aims to characterise mechanisms that underlie drug response, to identify biomarkers that predict treatment response, and to identify novel therapeutic alternatives in colorectal and pancreatic cancer. Our main working models include freshly isolated patient-derived tumour samples, 3-dimensional organoid tissue culture and mouse xenograft models.

**About the Role**
The Research Fellow will be involved in characterising mechanisms of tumour cell plasticity identified using cellular barcoding techniques, in determining the clinical usefulness of a theragnostic target using radiolabelled antibodies, and in contributing to the development and characterisation of co-culture assays between tumour organoids and stromal cells. The research fellow will also contribute to the supervision of technical staff and students and ensure the quality and reproducibility of patient sample isolation and growth procedures. They will also be responsible for ensuring the laboratory establishes and maintains good records in accordance with standard operative procedures.

Responsibilities include:

- Designing and performing a range of experiments involving cellular techniques including generation of organoids from tissue, tissue culture, barcode library transduction, imaging, flow cytometry, lysis of cell/organoid samples and downstream processing.
- Designing and performing _in vivo_ xenografting and drug treatment experiments in mice
- Contributing to in vivo treatment of animals with radiolabelled antibodies and to luminescence and PET-scan imaging of these animals.
- Software-assisted analysis, interpretation and reporting of data.
- Co-supervision of Honours, Masters or PhD students with colleagues in and outside of the Tumour Heterogeneity in Metastatic Cancer Laboratory, as agreed with the laboratory Head.

**About You**

You will also have:

- PhD in Science or Biomedicine in a relevant biomedical science area.
- Previous experience in tissue culture and _in vivo_ xenografting experiments.
- Demonstrated high level of technical competency in cell and molecular biology assays, such as DNA and/or RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence imaging, RT-PCR, Western blotting and/or ELISA.
- Additional research experience in the development and implantation of complex experimental approaches such as virus-mediated library transductions and analysis of large-scale downstream data.

**About the University**
The University of Melbourne is consistently ranked amongst the leading universities in the world. We are proud of our people, our commitment to research and teaching excellence, and our global engagement.

**Benefits of Working with Us**
In addition to having the opportunity to grow and be challenged, and to be part of a vibrant campus life, our people enjoy a range of rewarding benefits:

- Flexible working arrangements, generous personal, parental and cultural leave
- Competitive remuneration, 17% super, salary packaging and leave loading
- Free and subsidised health and wellbeing services, and access to fitness and cultural clubs
- Discounts on a wide range of products and services including Myki cards and Qantas Club
- Career development opportunities and 25% off graduate courses for staff and their immediate families

**Be Yourself**
We value the unique backgrounds, experiences and contributions that each person brings to our community an