The London Research Institute conducts comprehensive PhD and Postdoc training programmes, and are supported by highly trained scientific and administrative staff.
Postdoc Profiles
You can find out more about what it is like being part of the Postdoc Community at the LRI by reading the profiles below:
Emma Anderton
Molecular Oncology Laboratory. Originally from Birmingham, UK.
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While completing my PhD in the Department of Virology at Imperial College London studying the effect of Epstein Barr virus on the cell cycle, I became very interested in the molecular biology of cancer and applied to Postdoc positions in this field. The research in Gordon Peters' Molecular Oncology Laboratory at the LRI was particularly interesting to me, and when I visited the lab I was immediately impressed with the cosmopolitan atmosphere in Gordon's lab, and by the facilities at the LRI, so I was very happy to be offered a position here.
My Research in Gordon's lab investigates senescence, an important tumour suppressive mechanism whereby cells protect themselves against a number of stresses, including oncogene activation. Gordon is a very supportive supervisor, and I've loved working for him and being at the LRI.
There are lots of opportunities in the Postdoc Programme to develop your scientific and non-scientific skills. One of the opportunities I took advantage of was the chance to supervise a summer student. As well as providing an extra pair of hands for my project, this gave me some supervision and interview experience, which will be invaluable if I decide to apply for independent positions after my Postdoc.
There is a real buzz around the LRI and it's also easy to get involved in the LRI community, and the wider charity. Last year I helped organise the "LRI Olympics", a competition between the students, postdocs and staff held at the LRI retreat each year. At the moment, I'm training for a Cancer Research UK 10k run with around 20 scientists and support staff from the LRI. I'm also part of the Charity's netball team and in the past have volunteered to support the Charity's runners at the London Marathon.
I live in a flat in London Bridge - just a 15-minute bike ride from the LRI and the West End. Although I work hard, there is still lots of time to enjoy living in central London - I really enjoy the great theatres, arthouse cinemas, and visiting London's green spaces. London is also really well connected to the rest of the UK, and to Europe. So when you need a break from the city, it's easy to escape from London. As a lab, we get on really well and even go on weekends away together, heading to the country for some fresh air and relaxation.
Overall, working as a Postdoc here has been a fantastic experience. As well as being involved in some really exciting science, I've made some great friends and feel confident that the experience has prepared me well for a career in science.
Andrew Deans
Genetic Recombination Laboratory. Originally from Melbourne, Australia
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My main reason for me moving to Clare Hall was the science, but I've found it to be a great place to live and work. My PhD research at the Peter Mac Cancer Centre, Melbourne was on the effect of the DNA-repair protein BRCA1 on the cell-cycle. I knew of Clare Hall's reputation as one of the best centres studying DNA and the cell cycle, so when I started to look for postdocs in the DNA-repair field, Clare Hall was top of my list. I interviewed with a number of group leaders, and chose a project in Steve West's Genetic Recombination Laboratory. I've been using a knock-down system to studying the role of a DNA repair protein linked to the cellular response to unterstrand cross links.
Moving from a Melbourne summer to the middle of the British winter was a bit of a culture shock, but it was really easy to settle in. For the first few months, I lived in one of the cottages owed by Clare Hall; new people at Clare Hall often stay in the on-site accommodation for the first week or two, so it was a good way to get to know a few people straight away. However, the friendly atmosphere of Clare Hall meant that I soon got to know everyone who had been there longer too.
I now live in Finsbury Park, which is a short commute out to Clare Hall in the week - and just a tube journey into Central London, for some fun at the weekends.
Scientifically, Clare Hall is very stimulating - there's a high concentration of expertise and it's very focused. Interactions with Lincoln's Inn Fields mean you also get to meet people working on other fields. I've been involved in the organisation of Postdoc Retreats, which is one of the ways postdocs from Clare Hall and Lincoln's Inn Fields (LIF) interact. The LRI retreats are also a good way meet up with people from LIF and to get to know people at Clare Hall better - and something I really enjoy.
I'm currently looking at options for returning to Melbourne to run my own independent lab. There has been great support for career development, and I have learned a lot from the experiences of other lab mates that have gone on to fantastic independent positions.
I've really enjoyed my time here so far and would recommend doing a postdoc at the LRI to anyone who is enthusiastic about good science and wants to work in a friendly, and international environment.
Marie-Christine Ramel
Developmental Signalling Lab. Originally from Brittany, France.
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I joined Caroline Hill's laboratory two years ago to study the in vivo relationship between two proteins in the TGF-beta signalling pathway linked to cancer: Arkadia and SnoN. The project was a good mix of the skills and experiences I'd gaining working with zebrafish during my PhD at Texas A&M University and on TGF-beta signalling in my first Postdoc in Oxford, so I was very excited to be offered the position in the Developmental Signalling lab
Like other labs at the LRI, the Developmental Signalling lab is very international, and a close-knit group; however, we also interact regularly with the other developmental and signalling groups, and the breadth and quality of research in these areas was one of the things that attracted me to apply here.
The LRI is a fantastic place to do a Postdoc, and I feel very privileged to be working here.
The labs in the LRI are generously funded, meaning that you don't feel restricted in the experiments you can do. In fact, everything is set up to make doing science easy - the Laboratory Services and Support team clean and autoclave your glassware, and also make up stocks of common reagents for each laboratory - if you want some PBS or media, it's often just a case of taking it from the shelf.
The LRI Postdoc Programme is also very good. I've particularly found the Postdoc Career Development Reviews useful. These are meetings with your supervisor to discuss you progress, both scientifically and professionally - and are really great opportunity to discuss the more long-term priorities of your research, and where you'll go next, rather than the short-term goals that tend to be the priority in other discussions.
The Postdoc Feedback talks also help you get fresh insights into your research and find potential collaborators in the institute. Another great way to hear about other research going on here, and to meet people, are the LRI and Postdoc Retreats, which are always really enjoyable!
Alessia Errico
Cell Cycle Control Laboratory. Originally from Naples, Italy.
While investigating microtubules dynamics during my PhD at the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, I became fascinated by the regulation of the cell cycle. When applying for Postdoc positions, I decided to focus on this area and applied to several labs in the US and in England, and joined Tim Hunt's Cell Cycle Control Laboratory.
My research initially focused on a screen to identify novel CDK substrates, with a view to characterising potential new cell cycle regulators. One of the most interesting candidates from this screen was TIPIN, a protein implicated in stabilising the replication fork. Following this up meant forging collaborations with the Clare Hall groups that study replication. Clare Hall focuses on quite narrow research areas (genomic stability and replication and the cell cycle), and it's really easy to ask people their advice on areas outside your own specialism.
I love working at Clare Hall: the Laboratories are set in beautiful grounds so it's a very pleasant environment to work in. Clare Hall is very friendly, so it's easy to get to know lots of your colleagues and to forge close friendships quickly. In the summer we have weekly barbeques which helped me a lot to settle in.
Like many people working at Clare Hall, I live in Barnet, which is convenient both for Clare Hall (a 10-minute drive away), and Central London. Other Postdocs live in Potters Bar, St Albans, or Finsbury Park.
At present, I am applying to become an independent group leader at a University. I'd previously participated in the Postdoc/PI meetings at LIF which are offered as part of the LRI Postdoc Programme and found these to be quite useful in my preparation. Supervising summer students also proved to be a good experience for me, which helped improve my organisation and people management skills.
