Vacancies

About the role

We are seeking to appoint a Research Technician in Neuroepigenomics in the group of Dr Alexi Nott (https://nottgroup.com/index.html). Dr Nott’s research focuses on understanding how the epigenome and chromatin architecture regulates cell type gene expression programs in the healthy brain and during aging and disease.

What you would be doing

Building on laboratory experience in neuroscience, you will:

• Characterise chromatin factors from microglia, vascular and other brain cell types in human models of neuroinflammation.
• Identify and develop suitable techniques, and apparatus, for the collection and analysis of nuclei from human brain tissue.
• Demonstrate an aptitude for an organised, methodical approach to your work
• Provide up-to-date technical expertise, advice and support for specialised methods appropriate to the research projects

What we are looking for

A good qualification in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, or a relevant laboratory science or equivalent vocational qualification

• Experience of laboratory-based molecular biology and biochemistry research
• Experience of nuclei isolation from brain tissue
• Excellent communication skills and a willingness to learn and implement complex techniques

About the role

We are seeking motivated postdoctoral Research Associates to lead projects in the lab of Dr Naoto Watamura, an Edmond and Lily Safra Fellow, and working in close collaboration with the group of Dr Samuel Barnes. With new funding from The Michael Uren Foundation, we are offering two positions to grow our research on understanding the causal mechanisms of neurodegenerative pathology, particularly tau and α-synuclein, at single-cell resolution in living brain circuits and disease progression.

Based in the Department of Brain Sciences with membership of the UK Dementia Research Institute, you will further your expertise by developing and applying a novel in vivo platform to detect pathological α-synuclein or tau seeding and to determine its relationship with neuronal activity and molecular identity.

Both positions are initially offered for three years, with the expectation of extension. You will be supported and encouraged to apply for internationally competitive independent fellowships, publish original research and present at key conferences.

What you would be doing

Building on laboratory experience in neuroscience, you will:

• Develop and validate in vivo tau/α syn biosensor systems for real-time seed detection
• Perform two-photon live imaging to link neuronal activity with tau/α syn seed formation
• Analyse neural activity using GCaMP-based functional imaging
• Build and apply split-TEV strategies to label seed-containing cells
• Conduct seed-dependent snRNA-seq and integrate tau/α syn seed-formation with molecular profiling

What we are looking for

You will be a curious and organised scientist, keen to build on experience gained from a PhD in neuroscience, molecular biology, or related fields. You will bring

• Experience or strong interest in in vivo imaging and neuronal activity analysis
• Motivation to develop new biosensors and experimental systems
• Ability to integrate imaging, molecular profiling, and data analysis across scales
• Excellent Communication skills and a willingness to learn and implement complex techniques.
• Practical experience for DNA work and AAV production.

About the role

Launched in 2017, the UK Dementia Research Institute stands as a beacon of scientific innovation, representing an unprecedented £300 million investment in dementia research — the largest of its kind in UK history. The purpose of the UK DRI is to transform the outlook for people living with or at risk of neurodegenerative conditions through research.

We are inviting applications for a Research Assistant in computational brain vascular epigenomics, funded by the Uren Foundation, to join the laboratory of Dr Alexi Nott (https://nottgroup.com/index.html) in the UK DRI at Imperial College London.

Vascular dysfunction is one of the earliest pathological features of dementia, preceding clinical onset and representing a critical but underexplored window for therapeutic intervention. Our recent work has demonstrated that the brain neurovascular unit is a key driver of genetic risk for small vessel disease, and that epigenomic profiling of vascular cell types can be used to prioritise repurposable drug targets for dementia (Ziegler et al., Neuron, 2026). The successful candidate will contribute to a translational research project investigating cell-type-specific gene regulatory mechanisms underlying small vessel disease, with the aim of identifying targets of vascular dysfunction relevant to dementia. This work carries direct translational potential, with the opportunity to contribute to the prioritisation of both repurposable and novel therapeutic candidates underpinned by human epigenetic and genetic evidence.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual with an interest in computational biology to gain experience at the forefront of dementia research. The Nott group is multidisciplinary, and the post holder will work closely with both computational scientists and experimentalists, gaining broad exposure to cutting-edge epigenomic approaches and translational neuroscience.

What you would be doing

Using your experience in (epi)genomics of the brain, you will:

• Lead the analysis of analyse large-scale epigenomic and multi-omics datasets from human vascular and immune cell types.
• Develop and maintain bioinformatic pipelines and analytical workflows, applying rigorous standards to ensure robust and reproducible results.
• Contribute to the functional interpretation of noncoding disease risk variants linked to vascular dysfunction, guiding the identification of genetically supported therapeutic targets.
• Work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary research team, including computational scientists and experimentalists, within the UK DRI and with external collaborators.

What we are looking for

We are seeking a motivated and organised researchers who is excited by the science we do! You will have:

• Strong programming skills in R, Python, or other coding languages (e.g. C++, Matlab), with knowledge of Unix/Linux environments and version control systems such as Git and GitHub.
• Experience working with large-scale genomic datasets, ideally CUT&Tag, and/or ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, single-cell/nucleus genomics, RNA-seq.
• Experience with high-performance computing environments and the development of bioinformatic workflows using tools such as Nextflow.
• Knowledge of chromatin biology, gene regulation, and/or vascular and immune cell types, ideally in the context of the brain, is highly desirable.
• Experience working with GWAS summary statistics and/or population genetic analyses would be advantageous.