Senior Scientist - Polio Laboratory

Full time / Fixed term contract until 31 March 2029

The MHRA is transforming. Through enabling innovation, making the right judgements of the benefits and risks of medical products and forging the right partnerships in the UK and internationally, it aims to deliver world class regulation and improved outcomes for UK patients.

We are currently looking for an experienced Senior Scientist to join our Global Specialised Polio Laboratory team within the Research & Development function in the Science, Research & Innovation group.

The post holder will be responsible for undertaking laboratory-based work related to the use and further development and validation of direct detection methods for the identification and characterization of human enteroviruses in clinical and wastewater samples, particularly poliovirus as a key contribution to monitoring the polio-free status in the United Kingdom in collaboration with the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA). This will likely extend to the detection of additional viral targets such as SARS-CoV-2, norovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses and rotavirus as all have important public health relevance.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant field or equivalent experience with evidence of R&D, experience with statistical analysis and interpreting results derived from large complex data sets, including complex sequencing data from next generation sequencing, and be highly skilled in molecular assays applicable to primarily human viruses.

Closing date: 11 February 2025