진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow

Department: Chemistry Department

Reporting to: Dr Marco Monopoli

Location: 123 St Stephen Green, Dublin

Contract/Duration Specified purpose contract, up to 15 months

Remuneration: Post Doctorate Researcher (PD) Level 1

Closing Date: 26th of September 2025

RCSI is a community of academic, research, clinical and professional staff working collaboratively to lead the world to better health. Here, you will thrive in an innovative and inclusive atmosphere and your personal development and wellbeing will be supported. We invite you to join us to help deliver on our exciting mission “To educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health”. We seek candidates whose experience to date has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to the “Race Equality Action Plan 2025-2029” at RCSI. Our students come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds. This makes our university stronger and ensures we hire the best talent.

Innovating for a Healthier Future 2023-2027 is RCSI’s new five-year strategic plan. Through it, RCSI will enhance human health by meeting the health workforce needs of society, creating the insights and inventions that drive health improvements, and working in partnership with patients and the public in support of better health and well-being for all. The strategy unites the RCSI community in supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals – with a particular focus on Goal 3, which targets good health and well-being.

For each of the last six years, RCSI has been positioned in the Top 300 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher World University Rankings. We are proud that RCSI ranks fifth in the world for “Good Health and Well-being” in the Times Higher Education #SDG #SDG Impact Rankings 2024. This reflects our commitment to supporting people of all ages to live healthy lives and our work to promote the concepts of well-being and positive health. In 2024, RCSI was delighted to be named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in Ireland.

At RCSI, our core values of Respect, Collaboration, Scholarship, and Innovation are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where every colleague is valued and empowered to thrive. Our dedication to these values ensures that we foster a culture of mutual respect, open collaboration, continuous learning, and innovative thinking. Join us at RCSI, where your contributions will be recognised, and you will be part of a dynamic team making a real impact on global health.

About Our Research

RCSI recognises that excellence in research is critical to the quality of its educational activities, its credibility, and, overall, to its mission to enhance human health. RCSI’s research strategy aims to build upon its strength in translational biomedical and clinical research to deliver transformational, high impact changes in health care. Targeting both Irish national and EU funding, along with increased collaboration with industry, is a major part of the RCSI research strategy. Forging increased collaboration between RCSI PIs and industry is of critical importance to achieving success in this area. RCSI is also committed to provide its researchers with the supports and developmental opportunities to enable them to continuously grow and support their overall career development.

Summary of Post

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to conduct a study focused on gaining a comprehensive understanding of the biomolecular interactions between nanomaterials and living systems, which is essential for predicting their potential toxicity and environmental impact.

The researcher must have prior experience at least in one of the following research fields: proteomics, glycan analysis, or nanotechnology, and be able to work at the interface of synthetic chemistry and complex fluids, such as blood plasma, cell culture media, or lung lining fluids.

The researcher will characterise the nanomaterials in complex media with multiple techniques, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), Differential Centrifugal Sedimentation (DCS) and similar techniques. The candidate will also carry out mass spectrometry analysis and glycan analysis to characterise the corona composition and will also quantify the biological stability over time. The candidate will also develop methods to isolate the NP-corona complexes without creating artefacts and aggregation due to the isolation technique using protocols that are in place and also to develop new ones. The applicant will also be responsible of supporting the activity of other team members and of writing scientific reports and assist with manuscript preparation.

Some relevant publications on these studies are below:

Saorin, A., Subrati, A., Martinez-Serra, A., Alonso, B., Henry, M., Meleady, P., Moya, S. E., & Monopoli, M. P. (2025). A redefined protocol for protein corona analysis on graphene oxide. ACS Nanoscience Au. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.5c00052

Martinez-Serra, A., Saorin, A., Serrano-Lotina, A., Subrati, A., Soliman, M. G., Hristozov, D., Bañares, M. A., Demokritou, P., & Monopoli, M. P. (2025). Dispersion protocols have minimal impact on the biomolecular corona of advanced nanomaterials in cell culture assays. NanoImpact, 38, 100560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.impact.2025.100560

Alberto Martinez-Serra, Jack Cheeseman, Asia Saorin, Mahmoud G. Soliman, Marko Dobricic, Daniel I. R. Spencer, & Marco P. Monopoli. (2025). Multiple exposures of plasma to nanoparticles: A novel tool to personalize biomolecular coronas and fractionate fluids. Analytical Chemistry, 97, 14132. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c05573

Soliman, M. G., Fernandez Alarcon, J., Lüdtke, T. U., Violatto, M. B., Dobricic, M., Cordiglieri, C., Corbelli, A., Fiordaliso, F., Sitia, G., O’Donnell, J. S., Spencer, D. I. R., Moya, S., Bigini, P., & Monopoli, M. P. (2025). Decoration of gold nanoparticles with glycopeptides leads to a lower cellular uptake and liver retention. Nanoscale Advances, Advance Article. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NA00464K

Specifically, the duties of the post are:

• Carry out biomolecular analysis of the biomolecules using proteomics and glycan analysis
• Perform physical chemical characterisation of nanomaterials using standard techniques.
• Use or adapt methods to isolate nanoparticle-protein complexes using centrifugation or size exclusion chromatography.
• Attend work package meetings with partners across Europe.
• Travel to international conferences and consortium meetings in Europe
• Prepare progress reports and deliverables.
• Contribute to the writing of scientific papers
• Constantly stay up to date with the latest research findings in the literature
• Meet weekly with the line manager and attend weekly group meeting as well as the bimonthly Department of Chemistry Meetings
• Co-supervise PhD students and engage and cooperate with other researchers in the team.

Qualifications – (Essential):

• PhD in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Nanotechnology or similar research areas
• An excellent communicator who is keen on keeping an open conversation with the line manager

• An excellent teamwork willing to share his expertise with younger and older team members

  
  

Knowledge & Experience – (Essential):

• Good knowledge regarding nanomaterial characterisation sizing techniques (e.g. DLS, DCS, NTA, TGA, TEM, etc).
• Hands-on experience in proteomics or glycan analysis
• Understanding on basics techniques for protein quantification
• A team player who can collaborate with other researchers in the team and within the institute
• An excellent communicator who is keen on keeping an open conversation with the line manager
• Understanding the basics techniques for glycan analysis, protein sample handling and analysis with SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry analysis
• Appropriate publication record to the career stage of the applicant. Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• Ability to interact with researchers from an interdisciplinary

Useful links:

Link to the research team:

https://bionanolabgroup.wordpress.com/

Link to the publications of the team:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=V6fGFMwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

EU project consortium:

www.potential-eu.eu

We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application — we’d love to hear from you.

Application Process

Please apply online through the RCSI careers portal ( https://www.rcsi.com/careers ) as soon as possible and before the closing date with your CV and cover letter highlighting how the applicant’s expertise will be aligned with the advertised position. Informal enquiries can be directed to marcomonopoli@rcsi.ie but it will be much appreciated to careful revise the information provided first. Please note we do not accept CVs directly and applications are not accepted when sent by email.

Click here to read our Recruitment and Selection Policy for Researcher.

Employee Benefits

At RCSI, we help care for our people so they can focus on our mission to Educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health. RCSI truly goes above and beyond to support its employees, ensuring they have everything they need to thrive both personally and professionally. Here's a glimpse of the fantastic benefit available:

Health and Wellbeing:

• Our Inspire Programme promotes the importance of taking care of both our general health and mental health. Inspire manages the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offered through SpectrumLife. Past events held by Inspire have included, workshops on mindfulness practices, yoga, nutritional advice, financial advice on mortgages, pensions & health insurance from leading experts, fitness challenges, baking competitions, weight loss programmes, annual flu vaccination campaign and many more.
• You can also enjoy access to an onsite gym for just €10 per month.

Work –Life Balance:

• Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for fostering employee well-being, productivity, and overall satisfaction. At RCSI, we offer flexible working arrangements, study leave, and career breaks. In addition to 20 days of annual leave, employees receive an extra 6.5 days of university privilege days, which occur annually around the Christmas and Easter breaks.

Family Benefits:

• RCSI offers enhanced family leave to our working parents with fully paid Maternity, Adoptive, Paternity and Surrogacy Leave. We also offer the first two weeks of Parents leave fully paid for, as well as the option to take Parental Leave until your child is 18 years old. We provide access to Platform 55, a new Parents Platform to support staff before, during, and after becoming a parent. We also offer flexible working, discounted Giraffe crèche services of up to 20% and a Parents and Carers’ Network.

Financial Security:

• Benefit from automatic enrolment in a pension scheme with Willis Towers Watson with the employer contributions increasing with your length of service, Death in Service of up to 4 times your salary, long-term illness and disability income replacement, and free advice on health, motor, and home insurance.

Discounted Services:

• Avail of discounted GP services, Taxsaver commuter tickets, the BiketoWork scheme, free eye tests at the National Optometry Centre, and discounted parking at St. Stephen's Green/RCSI car park.

Recognition:

• At RCSI, we value and recognise the contributions of our staff through various awards and events, such as Long Service recognition, the Vice Chancellor Staff Awards, and through Research Day.

Professional Growth:

• RCSI’s Staff Learning and Development is committed to providing colleagues with opportunities and support to help them reach their full potential and thrive at work. Offerings include a comprehensive programme of staff training, management and leadership development, mentoring, coaching and funding support for further study.

Staff Networks:

• Additionally, we support a range of staff networks, including the Women’s Network, Postdoctoral Staff Network, Parents & Carers’ Network, Project Manager’s Network, LGBTI+ Network, Age Friendly Network etc. These networks help RCSI to foster a sense of community and inclusivity.

Sports and Social Club:

• Engage in a variety of activities such as Yoga, Pilates and a variety of different Fitness classes. Enjoy social evenings, Book Clubs, Summer BBQs and one-off events like the Taste of Dublin, Bloom, Dublin Horse Show and Dublin Zoo. We also have a variety of discount tickets for shows and events through the year.

Note: This job description may be subject to change to reflect the evolving requirements of the Department and RCSI. Similar vacancies that arise in the next 6 months may be filled from the pool of applicants that apply for this position. RCSI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or race. RCSI is committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across everything we do. This ensures we can all work and learn in an environment defined by dignity and respect. Eligibility to work in Ireland is a requirement of this role, Proof of eligibility documentation will be required at a later date. Under limited and specific circumstances (research/ specialist roles) RCSI may be in a position to seek a hosting agreement and/or work permits. Employees are required to undertake 6 months service in their current role before applying for other internal opportunities, unless agreed in advance by the SMT representative.