Institutes Biomedical Research jobs

Professors David Lewis/Thomas Bird

Developing a Hepatocellular Carcinoma Subtype‑Specific PET Radiotracer for Preclinical PET Imaging

Salary: from £39,253 to £45,505 subject to experience, plus relocation allowance and visa costs if required.

Contract term: Fixed up to 6 years, subject to successful review at Year 3

About us

The CRUK Scotland Institute is a cancer research institute, situated in Glasgow with approximately 250 researchers split across 30 research groups consisting of PIs, postdoctoral scientists, PhD students and scientific officers. It is one of Europe's leading cancer research centres, supporting cutting-edge work into the molecular mechanisms of cancer development. As well as core support from Cancer Research UK, the Institute also receives an additional third of its total income from external grants and industry collaborations.

Project outline

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous and often treatment‑resistant cancer, with no clinically validated biomarkers to guide patients toward the most effective targeted therapies. A clinically important HCC subtype driven by activation of the canonical Wnt/β‑catenin pathway is strongly immune evasive and frequently resistant to immunotherapy. Despite its significance, this subtype cannot currently be reliably identified using genetic profiling alone.

This Jules Thorne funded programme brings together a multidisciplinary team to develop the first subtype specific precision approach for HCC. The project integrates metabolic biomarker discovery and validation, state of the art GEMMs and patient derived organoid models, clinical sample analysis from prospective patient cohorts, and advanced radiochemistry and metabolic PET imaging. Together, these approaches aim to establish the first subtype specific therapeutic strategy for early phase HCC clinical trials.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Scientist to contribute to the development of a PET imaging probe targeting glutamine synthetase (GS), a downstream effector of canonical Wnt/β catenin signalling, to detect this tumour subtype in vivo.

You will have a PhD (or near completion) in radiochemistry, chemistry, cancer biology, molecular imaging, biomedical sciences, or a related discipline.

More details are available on our website.

For informal enquiries, please email Professor David Lewis (David.Lewis@glasgow.ac.uk) / Thomas Bird (t.bird@crukscotlandinstitute.ac.uk)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Our vision is to build and maintain a diverse and inclusive research culture based on our shared values of Innovate, Respect, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellence. These values, which underpin our behaviours and everything we do, allow all our people to realise their full potential. The diversity of our staff and students is also what makes the Institute such a vibrant place to work and advance discoveries in cancer research. Family friendly policies, our collaborative ethos, a focus on good mental health and well-being and opportunities for all help to create an enjoyable and inclusive workplace where your voice matters.

Employee Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 40.5 days annual leave including bank holidays (FTE)
• Defined contribution pension scheme
• Free life assurance scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Additional maternity pay for 6 months at full salary
• Shared parental leave including up to 6 weeks paid at full salary
• Cycle to work scheme saving tax and NI on cycle purchase and spreading repayments over up to 12 months
• Access to employee benefit schemes with discounts on supermarkets, cinema, travel and much more.
• On-site secure parking

All applications must be made via our website at:

https://www.crukscotlandinstitute.ac.uk/careers/postdoctoral-fellows.html

Closing Date: 18th September 2026

Pay: £39,253.00-£45,505.00 per year

Benefits:

• On-site parking

Work Location: In person