Research Associate (Fixed Term) - Targeting mitophagy to modulate nuclear-mitochondrial interactions

The University of Cambridge wishes to appoint a talented and ambitious laboratory postdoctoral research associate to join the research groups of Prof Patrick Chinnery, Prof Rita Horvath and Dr Jelle van den Ameele at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. The position is part of a collaborative Wellcome Discovery Award aligned to the LifeArc Centre for Rare Mitochondrial Disease and MRC National Mouse Genetics Network (https://nmgn.mrc.ukri.org). The combined research groups include over 50 wet-lab, computational and clinical scientists based at the University of Cambridge working on the common aim of developing new treatments for diseases caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Disruption of nuclear-mitochondrial homeostasis is an important disease mechanism in both rare inherited mitochondrial disorders and for common diseases of ageing. There is emerging evidence that specific nuclear proteins play a key role modulating the interaction between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the nuclear genomes, enabling the 'matching' of these two independent genomes to optimise mitochondrial function in health and disease. This role will focus on understanding the biology of nuclear-mitochondrial interactions with a view to developing therapeutics that target these mechanisms. You will capitalise on our recent discovery that ubiquitin specific peptidase 30 (USP30) regulates the level of heteroplasmic mtDNA mutations during maternal inheritance by upregulating mitophagy (Science 2025 PMID: 41066576), to explore whether similar mechanisms come in to play in somatic tissues during life, when this occurs and what the cellular mechanisms are. This will pave the way towards a new therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases and ageing. You will harness state-of-the-art models and techniques established in our labs, involving animal and human cell biology systems, including organoids, and innovative single-cell 'omic techniques including CRISPR gene perturbation (Nature Str Mol Biol 2026 PMID: 41922875) dissect out cell-type specific mechanisms. You will have access to a team of experienced bioinformaticians, but have the opportunity to be trained and perform independent in-depth bioinformatic analysis of large single-cell datasets. You will have access to clinical samples from the MitoCamb neurogenetics clinic (https://mitocamb.medschl.cam.ac.uk/clinics/), to apply and translate novel technology and insights towards a human disease context. We anticipate this work will lead to high-profile publications based on our track-record: Nature Str Mol Biol 2026 PMID: 41922875; Science 2025 PMID: 41066576; Nature Medicine 2024 PIMID 8745010; Cell 2023 PMID36827974; Nature 2022 PMID36198798; Nature Genetics 2021 PMID34002094; Nature Medicine 2021 PMID34426706; eLife 2019 PMID31513013; Science 2019 PMID31123110. We are looking for a researcher who is enthusiastic about collaborative science and keen to develop their skills within a multidisciplinary team. Candidates should be highly motivated and able to work both independently and with colleagues across a range of scientific disciplines and partner organisations. In addition to developing their own research programme, the successful candidate will benefit from a range of training, mentoring and career development opportunities, with scope to support and guide more junior members of the research team. Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online. The role will be located within the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit housed in the Wellcome Trust/MRC Building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with state-of-the-art facilities available to group members. The lab and the wider University of Cambridge are committed, in their pursuit of academic and research excellence, to a pro-active and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity. Flexible working will be considered. The University particularly encourages women and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to apply. Lab websites: MRC MBU Research groups: https://www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk/research-groups Cambridge Clinical Mitochondrial Research team: https://www-neurosciences.medschl.cam.ac.uk/mitocamb/ MRC MitoCluster: https://nmgn.mrc.ukri.org/clusters/mitochondria/ Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 24 months (2 years) in the first instance, with the possibility of extending beyond this. For informal enquiries, please contact Patrick Chinnery (pfc25@cam.ac.uk), Rita Horvath (rh732@cam.ac.uk), or Jelle van den Ameele (jv361@cam.ac.uk). Applicants must have (or be close to obtaining) a PhD. Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will initially be appointed as a Research Assistant (Grade 5, Point 38 £34,610) moving to Research Associate (Grade 7) upon confirmation of your PhD award. Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV in the Upload section of the online application. The covering letter should outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager. Please quote reference RR50161 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy. The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.