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ESR7

EU  Ocuther

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 722717.

ESR 7: Sustained intraocular drug delivery for the management of inflammation induced retinal angiogenesis; Queen’s University Belfast (UK)

The Centre for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast wishes to appoint a postgraduate “Early-stage Researcher” funded by the “OCUTHER-European Training Network” within the Marie Sklodowska Currie Programme. The successful applicant will be employed as a Research Assistant and enrolled in the PhD training programme for three years. The post is based within the Ocular Immunology group in the Centre for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, working under the supervision of Professor Heping Xu and Dr Mei Chen. The Ocular Immunology group has been supported by sustained funding from a range of organisations such as Research Council UK, the Wellcome Trust, JDRF, Diabetes UK, Fight for Sight, and National Eye Research Centre. The Ocular Immunology Laboratory comprises a very international and multidisciplinary group of research fellows and PhD students.

Retinal angiogenesis is often associated with a low-degree of sustained chronic retinal inflammation. Although current therapies (i.e., intraocular injections of VEGF inhibitors or steroids) are effective in controlling the symptoms, and even improve visual function in some cases, not all patients respond to the therapies. Furthermore, the intraocular injections have to be conducted once every 6~8 week. This ERS project will use a sustained intraocular drug delivery system and test the therapeutic potential of a newly identified target in in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation induced retinal angiogenesis. The information gained from the project will provide a feedback loop for other partners of the consortium for the development of optimal drug carriers for inflammatory and angiogenic retinal diseases.

What we have to offer

  • Employment: 1.0 fte
  • Salary: £23,854 per annum with pension, or £27,208 per annum without pension, completed by a mobility allowance of £363 per month
  • Duration of contract: 3 years

OCUTHER-European Training Network eligibility criteria

There are strict eligibility requirements for the ESR PhD positions in OCUTHER Training Network. Please ensure that you qualify before applying, as ineligible candidates cannot be considered.

  • Applicants must be non-resident in the UK at time of appointment and must not have resided or performed their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 year period immediately prior to the start date of the PhD research.
  • Applicants for the ESR PhD positions should be in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers and not yet have been awarded a doctorate.
  • For other essential/desirable criteria please visit QUB jobs website (Job Ref: 16/104985).

Would you like to know more?

How to apply

All applicants must submit their application through the QUB Web Recruitment System at the following link: Job Opportunities at Queen’s (select “Job Search” and enter the Job Reference 16/104985). The instruction on how to use the Web Recruitment Job Application System can be found at the link How to Apply. You should complete the online application form and upload relevant supporting documents such as your CV. The application deadline is 5th February 2017.

Your application should include (and be limited to) the following attachments:

  • Letter of motivation
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Brief statement on how you will contribute to this project