Research Associate

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) trains doctors who put patients at the centre of their exemplary care. The School, which offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes, is named after local philanthropist Tan Sri Dato Lee Kong Chian. Established in 2010 by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in partnership with Imperial College London, LKCMedicine aims to be a model for innovative medical education and a centre for transformative research. The School's primary clinical partner is the National Healthcare Group, a leader in public healthcare recognised for the quality of its medical expertise, facilities and teaching. The school is transitioning to an NTU medical school ahead of the 2028 successful conclusion of the NTU-Imperial partnership to set up a Joint Medical School. In August 2024, we welcomed our first intake of the NTU MBBS programme, that has been recently enhanced to include themes like precision medicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with an expanded scope in the medical humanities. Graduates from the five-year undergraduate medical degree programme will have a strong understanding of the scientific basis of medicine, with an emphasis on technology, data science and the humanities.

LKCMedicine is recruiting a Research Associate for the Respiratory and Infectious Diseases Programme, Laboratory of Antimicrobial Resistance and Drug Discovery under Professor Pablo Bifani.

The lab is working in applied phage biology with the aim of developing recombinant phages for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. These phages are to be used to treat patients affected by otherwise untreatable multidrug resistant organisms or recalcitrant bacterial infections. The successful development of phages with therapeutic potential could have a direct impact on life-saving or quality of life improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Carry-out standard microbiology techniques, bacterial cultures and phage production, isolation, characterization, etc. The focus of the job will be on the genetic manipulations/engineering of selected bacteriophages. These will include knock-out, knock-in, mutagenesis etc.

• Responsible for the phage recombinant work in the lab

• Bacterial cultures

• Phage Target deconvolution (understanding mechanisms of action and resistance of selected phages)

• Design and conduct experiments including data collection and analysis

• Summarize and present the data in lab meetings

• Develop new research techniques and approaches

• Perform maintenance of inventory and procurement of laboratory consumables

• Manage the grant and basic logistical requirements associated with the project

• Ensure safe technical practices and procedures

Key Competencies and Requirements:

• Master degree in Biomedical Sciences or related fields and at least 3 years work experience.

• Expected to have a background working with bacteria and have a strong background and interest in molecular including recombinant work, genomic and transcriptomic.

• Knowledge or expertise working with bacteriophages will be an advantage

• Knowledge of bioinformatic tools would be helpful

• Must be willing to learn and feel comfortable working with various bacteria (drug resistant K. pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter spp and others)

• Highly adaptable at working with different organisms and techniques

• Collaborative spirit with internal and external collaborators