About this role
Department/Location: Department of Pharmacology, Central Cambridge The group of Florian Merkle at the University of Cambridge is seeking a technician experienced in mammalian cell culture to help generate and characterise human cellular models of obesity. Specifically, we generate appetite-regulatory neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including neurons that respond to hormones such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that form the basis of leading anti-obesity therapies. We now aim to work with an industrial partner (NovoNordisk) to characterise their responses to the hormones insulin and leptin and develop in vitro models of resistance insulin and leptin resistance. These experiments will provide a powerful new model system to understand the mechanistic basis of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and potentially also neurodegenerative diseases that feature central insulin resistance. The successful candidate will have a strong track record of working wi...