To investigate the escalating incidence of drug-resistant A. fumigatus coinfections in patients with pulmonary conditions such as cystic fibrosis, influenza and COVID-19.

This project is to be undertaken by a newly appointed Research Assistant. The staff member will register for the studentship during their employment contract.

We are seeking a microbiological Research Assistant to work on antimicrobial resistance in the major mould pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. The position is based in the lab of Dr Darius Armstrong-James, funded by a Wellcome Trust funded 4-year Collaborative Award, led by Prof Matthew Fisher, and will investigate the escalating incidence of drug-resistant A. fumigatus coinfections in patients with pulmonary conditions such as cystic fibrosis, influenza and COVID-19.

We are looking for an independent candidate (Research Assistant) with outstanding experience in wet-laboratory microbiology of infectious organisms, preferably fungi. The post-holders role will be to develop research into patient acquisition of A. fumigatus from environmental sources using genomic epidemiology methods and phenotyping of clinical and environmental isolates. The postholder will explore the potential nosocomial transmission of A. fumigatus in healthcare settings, and will assist in the development and use of novel LAMP-based molecular diagnostics for the detection of antifungal-resistant A. fumigatus. In order to determine the relative fitness of different fungal genotypes, the postholder will collaborate with fitness-profiling barcoded panels of A. fumigatus and undertake macrophage cell-culture and metabolic profiling using the Omnilog platform.

The post holder should also have good project coordination skills, and also to be able to liaise with the wider team, work to deadlines, and to be able to travel. You will be based within the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection (Flowers Building, South Kensington Campus) and will also be linked to the internationally competitive ‘Fungal Pathogens’ theme within the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (GIDA). The post-holder will work in coordination with NHS-trust microbiological labs to access clinical specimens and will develop a programme of visits to survey patients home and hospital environments. She or he will be asked to support project-linked posts within Imperial (Research Associate/Fellow and/or PhD student). This is a very rewarding position amongst a dynamic team of international multi-disciplinary laboratories that have a long history of successful collaboration. If the post-holder does no hold a PhD, they will be encouraged to register for one to be undertaken within the 4-year lifetime of this project.