Laboratory Technician

Salary: £27,319.00 - £29,588.00  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 17 February 2026

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated and detail-orientated technician to join our research project focused on circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in neuroblastoma. This project aims to isolate CTCs from blood from patients with neuroblastoma and perform DNA/RNA sequencing of CTCs on a single cell level. Your role will require knowledge and laboratory skills in the field of cancer biology and next generation sequencing (NGS).

You will join a wide community of technical staff in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Translational and Clinical Institute. You will report to Dr Marina Danilenko and the Institute Technical Manager and be required to optimise and apply the experimental protocols on CTC isolation, counting, visualisation, nucleic acids extraction and amplification, as well as sample preparation for NGS. You will also be guided to gain knowledge on the sequencing data analysis. You will be required to mentor junior staff.

Experience of working with human cells/tissue, cell isolation and immunostaining techniques, nucleic acids extraction and preparation for sequencing is essential, but support with optimising techniques will be provided. Problem-solving capability and an ability to meet deadlines is essential. Previous experience of NGS and good scientific writing skills would be desirable.

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the community they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The position is full time, fixed term until 31 January 2027

Further information can be obtained by contacting Dr Marina Danilenko ([email protected])  

Key Accountabilities

• To be responsible for day-day management and support of experimental work involving handling and processing patient blood samples, isolation of CTCs, nucleic acids extraction and preparation for sequencing of CTCs from patients with neuroblastoma.  Storage of experimental data in accurate, secure, detailed and up to date records of all work carried out under ther guidance of senior research staff.


• Contribute to the presentation of results to the group and to the research community in general.


• Complete a range of maintenance activities and repairs


• Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to resolve problems and investigate replacement options


• Advise on equipment capabilities demonstrating how results can be achieved


• By developing local procedures, establish and maintain a safe/compliant working environment


• Assist with the completion and updating of a wide range of safety paperwork


• Oversee compliance tasks ensuring timely completion and maintenance of appropriate records


• Maintain broad and up to date health and safety knowledge providing support/advice to others.


• Schedule, prioritize and monitor work and performance in line with demands and deadlines


• Hold delegated responsibility from the academic/technical lead for the planning, operation, and supervision of a variety of laboratory spaces.


• Work collaboratively with the other areas to ensure efficiency and elimination of duplicated effort


• Be a key contributor to service development, delivery and planning


• Contribute and support change


• Oversee local record keeping, inventory and asset management


• Monitor resource usage and stores operations


• Create, update and implement procedures to deliver an aligned, efficient and effective service


• Provide a broad range of skilled research/teaching support


• Prepare and manufacture a range of specimens/samples with limited direction


• Design, develop and deliver inductions, demonstrations and training covering a broad range of activities (not limited to techniques and equipment)


• Assist managers with the identification of training and development needs


• Develop a broad knowledge and skills base, sharing with others


• Mentor junior staff


• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Good overall knowledge of neuroblastoma and experience of neuroblastoma research


• Demonstrable work experience in a relevant technical laboratory role: working with cuktured cancer cells and knowledge of nucleic acids extraction and amplification


• Thorough working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, and experience of safe waste management within a workshop/laboratory environment.


• Experience of handling clinical tissue and processing human samples (desirable)


• Knowledge or experience of performing next generation sequencing (desirable)


• Excellent team working skills


• Demonstrates technical and problem solving capability


• Demonstrates good organising ability to meet deadlines with a positive and proactive approach to duties and attention to detail


• Contribute to design and specification of research activities (Desirable)


• Ability to adapt to changes in research priorities

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent oral and written communication skills 


• Good interpersonal skills to interface with staff


• Attention to detail to ensure accuracy and precision


• Work in a collaborative and flexible way


• To exhibit University and Faculty values and principles

Qualifications

• BTEC HNC/HND or equivalent in relevant subject or equivalent experience


• A degree in a relevant field (desirable)


• Professional registration with an accredited professional body (including HEA) or working towards this on appointment (Desirable)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29060