Postdoctoral Researcher

About This Role

Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU; www.mbru.ac.ae) is part of Dubai Health, the first integrated academic health system in the UAE. Dubai Health seeks to strengthen Dubai as a global leader in health care, medical education, research, and scientific innovation, to enhance the capabilities of Dubai’s healthcare sector. Dubai Health is managing and operating 54 sites, including 6 government hospitals, 26 ambulatory health centers, 20 medical fitness centers, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), and Al Jalila Foundation.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will conduct independent and collaborative research focused on cell biology driven therapeutic development, with emphasis on antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and related therapeutic platforms.

The role involves developing and executing cell-based and molecular assays, supporting target validation and mechanism-of-action studies, and contributing to translational genomics programs.

Strategic Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the drug design and prioritization of research programs aligned with the organization’s therapeutic objectives.
• Provide scientific insights that inform project decision-making and experimental design for drug development.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (bioinformatics, proteomics, genomics) to integrate multi-disciplinary data for project advancement.
• Mentor junior scientists and interns in experimental techniques, data analysis, and scientific best practices.
• Identify emerging technologies in therapeutics and propose integration strategies.

Core Responsibilities:

• Design, execute, and interpret cell-based functional genomics experiments to develop next generation mRNA drug
• Develop and optimize in vitro assays for therapeutic validation (including antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) workflows)
• Perform mechanistic and pathway-based studies to understand therapeutic effects
• Conduct mammalian cell culture including maintenance and experimental manipulation
• Apply molecular biology techniques (RNA/DNA extraction, qPCR, etc.)
• Analyze and interpret experimental data, including basic transcriptomic or functional datasets
• Develop and validate cellular disease models relevant to therapeutic targets
• Support drug discovery and preclinical research pipelines
• Integrate experimental results with multi-omics datasets
• Contribute to high-impact publications, grants, and scientific outputs
• Present findings at national and international conferences
• Participate in teaching and education-related activities within the College of Medicine, MBRU.

Community Service

• Seeks and develops relationship with suitable external partners in order to raise the profile of the College and the University.
• Provides opportunities for assisting professional colleagues to maintain and enhance their skills by offering Continuing Professional development in their specialty.

Self-Management Responsibilities:

• Defines performance goals at the start of the year in discussion with the reporting manager and ensures that the goals are monitored and achieved during the year.
• Takes ownership of his/her own learning agenda by identifying development needs in consultation with the reporting manager and working towards bridging the gaps through various means which go beyond just training.
• Understands the competencies relevant to his/her role and works towards displaying as well as developing these effectively.
• Keeps abreast of relevant professional/industry developments, new techniques and current issues through continued education and professional networks.

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genomics, Biotechnology, Pharmacology, or related field
• Strong expertise in mammalian cell culture (MANDATORY)
• Experience in therapeutic research (e.g., ASO, RNA therapeutics, gene therapy, drug discovery, or related areas)
• Hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques
• Ability to design experiments and work independently
• Familiarity with basic data analysis (qPCR interpretation, RNA-seq exposure, or equivalent)
• Track record of scientific publications

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with stem cell models (iPSC/ESC)
• Exposure to multi-omics integration
• Experience in translational or preclinical research environments
• Prior mentoring experience
• Written and spoken English is essential, Arabic is preferred

Years of Experience:

PhD in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences, or a related field from an accredited institute/college/university.