Undergraduate Placement Research Assistant

Job summary

We are seeking a highly motivated person to undertake a 12-month placement at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham. The project will investigate potential treatments for bone cancer, working closely with research and clinical staff at both the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Aston University. The appointed candidate will work in the Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory developing novel synthetic scaffolds to treat bone cancer. The aim is to develop materials that can kill residual cancer cells within the local vicinity whilst simultaneously promoting new bone formation and healing. The postholder will develop background knowledge of the research area and scientific methods by thoroughly revising up-to-date literature collected from on relevant databases e.g., Web of Science, SCOPUS, PubMed, etc.

Main duties of the job

To perform experiments to investigate synthetic bone grafts for Bone Cancer therapy. These experiments will include but will not be limited to:

performing cell culture of different types of cancerous and healthy bone cells

carrying out quantitative analysis of cell viability by means of MTT assays

performing qualitative analysis of cell viability by means of Live/Dead assay and epifluorescence microscopy

undertaking cell differentiation experiments using Alizarin Red S assay and ELISA kits.

undertaking cell apoptosis experiments using Caspases 3/7 kits.

Data collected from those assays will need to be statistically analysed and plotted as graphs or tables. The main statistical tests to be used for such analysis will include:

Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test (KS test); t-test; analysis of variance (ANOVA)

linear correlation (Pearson's correlation); linear regression; and chi-squared tests.

After analysed, data will have to be communicated in a clear and concise manner both orally and in written format. For this, charts and posters will need to be produced using the science illustration tool Biorender and presentations prepared on Microsoft Power Point software.

About us

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest specialist orthopaedic units in Europe. We offer planned orthopaedic surgery to people locally, nationally and internationally.

Our Trust is a very special hospital; big enough to deliver world class services and small enough to offer exceptional patient and staff experience. We offer a working experience unique in the West Midlands and we're always on the lookout for passionate people to join our award-winning team.

The ROH is an equal opportunities employer. We employ people of difference and are committed to growing an inclusive culture, where difference is celebrated, and people feel able to bring their whole and authentic self to work.

We are a Disability Confident Leader and offer a range of inclusive, family friendly and flexible working arrangements and policies, to support our people in the workplace. Flexible working requests will be considered.

The Trust is committed to the Disability Confident Interview Scheme and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy and consider them on their abilities.

If you have a disability and need any support with your application or require any reasonable adjustments to be implemented please do get in touch with the Recruiting Manager for this position so that the team can support you.

Employer details

Employer name

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

Birmingham

B312AP

Employer's website

https://www.roh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

---

Employer details

Employer name

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

Birmingham

B312AP

Employer's website

https://www.roh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

---