eBIC: Electron Bio-Imaging Centre

The electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC) was established at Diamond Light Source following the award of a £15.6 million grant from the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

eBIC mission:

• Provide 24/7 free user access through peer-review process
• Develop cutting-edge technology with in-house research program
• Grow and train user community
• Foster integrated structural biology within Diamond and beyond

eBIC provides scientists with state-of-the-art experimental equipment and expertise in the field of cryo-electron microscopy, for single particle analysis, electron tomography and electron diffraction. The location of eBIC enables scientists to combine their techniques with many of the other cutting-edge approaches that Diamond offers. 

Currently eBIC houses five Titan Krios microscopes, a Talos Arctica, two Glacios, a Scios and an Aquilos cryo-FIB/SEM, and a Leica CryoCLEM.

Cryo-Electron Microscopy Senior Scientist
We now have an opportunity for a Senior CryoEM Scientist to join the eBIC team and contribute to the continued success of our world-leading scientific facility. This role will be essential in supporting eBIC’s user programme by providing operational support, as well as contributing to in-house research and development projects. This role is similar to a university lecturer/senior lecturer or readership role and the successful candidate is expected to engage in research and training in the area of cryoEM.

Responsibilities will include:

• Contributing to day-to-day operations of eBIC by assisting with external user experiments as a local contact.
• Actively participating in eBIC reviews including preparation of documentation, contributing to identify areas for improvement.
• Developing your own research, in an area relevant to eBIC and disseminating the results.
• Giving advice to users on proposal submissions and helping to develop the user community.
• Contributing to the management and funding of the eBIC, working with senior eBIC staff to attract external funding.

Read more here...Cryo-Electron Microscopy Senior Scientist

Postdoctoral Research Associate - CryoEM Bacterial Warfare
We now have an opportunity for a motivated self-driven scientist to take on a post-doctoral research position at eBIC, here at Diamond Light Source Ltd.

The successful candidate will focus on developing high-throughput imaging methods for deciphering the molecular basis of target cell recognition by Tailocins. Tailocins are bacterial warfare complexes, derived from bacteriophages, which are produced by specific bacteria at times of stress to kill competing species. The ultimate aim of the project is to provide sufficient structural knowledge of the target cell recognition mechanism so that Tailcoins can be designed to destroy disease-relevant bacteria e.g. MRSA, Psueduomonas aeruginosa and other drug-resistant microbe.

The role will involve developing new expression systems and sample preparation methods as well as different data collection strategies using both cryo-single particle analysis (cryo-SPA), and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) as well as x-ray crystallography.

To facilitate this role, the successful candidate will work with state-of-the-art equipment which includes the cryoEMs within eBIC, x-ray beamlines at Diamond and high-throughput protein production and crystallisation facilities at RCaH.

Read more here...Postdoctoral Research Associate - CryoEM Bacterial Warfare

Postdoctoral Research Associate - Correlative Microscopy
We are seeking a highly motivated PDRA on a 16 month fixed term contract to develop and apply a multi-scale and correlative microscopy workflow to understand the germicidal effects of anti-microbial agents on microorganisms. This is a collaboration between Procter & Gamble and the Diamond Light Source. You will use optical microscopes (cryoSIM and Leica cryoCLEM), cryo-Soft X-ray Tomography (SXT), with Scios/Aquilos cryoFIB/SEM instrument and Krios microscopes at Diamond and set up novel experiments to investigate how individual antimicrobial agents (AMA) affect the cell (e.g. peroxidation, lipid plasticisation, chelation of multivalent cations bound to the lipids and permeation of small molecules through it) and to identify the best combination for fast kill.

Read more here...Postdoctoral Research Associate - Correlative Microscopy

Data Analysis Scientist (cryoEM)
We now have an opportunity for a Data Analysis Scientist to join our data analysis group and to work closely with our scientists at eBIC to develop data analysis tools in the cryoEM area. 

The Data Analysis Group is responsible for providing research software to analyse data generated from our diverse range of scientific facilities that exploit the synchrotron light from Diamond as well as data acquired from eBIC. The software we design and implement across Diamond requires innovation, robustness, and performance at its core. 

The software that you write will routinely integrate open-source software solutions and interface with other critical software infrastructure across Diamond. 

The role will focus on development of workflows for cryoEM data analysis. You will be a member of a small team of developers and work closely and collaborate with our scientists at eBIC.

Read more here...Data Analysis Scientist (cryoEM)