JBL Science is a commercial research organisation based within the University of Lincoln drawing on the expertise principally within the Schools of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Life Science, but with reach into departments across the entire University. Along with being able to harness the expertise of academics, we are also supported by a dedicated team of Instrument Scientists, all qualified to post-doctoral level, with expertise in the areas of chromatography, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, spectroscopic and thermal methods and X-ray crystallography.
Beyond the above areas, the group has an extensive range of analytical capabilities and expertise enabling investigations all the way from elemental levels, through functional group and molecular scales to macromolecular and cellular levels.
Our laboratories and instrumentation are operated and maintained by a technical team with expertise ranging from scanning electron microscopy to synthetic chemistry.
Our Project Scientist team has experience of successful project delivery in commercial settings in industries ranging from medical device manufacture through to heavy industry to ensure client needs are met.
We offer the flexibility of working at close to GLP standards, including secure data management and storage, whilst also being able to offer bespoke solutions to meet specific client requirements.
History and values
Commercial science has been undertaken at the University of Lincoln for many years. JBL Science was established in 2016 to formalise our industry links. This was a phase when the University of Lincoln was undergoing significant expansion of its science base. The University was introducing new schools of pharmacy, chemistry, engineering and geography, amongst others, to add to the existing capabilities in life science. This sudden influx of academic talent and analytical instrumentation is of significant potential value to business both in the local region and further afield, since there are now cutting-edge analytical capabilities on the doorstep that were not previously available.
We have been set up to provide a direct link between industry and the burgeoning scientific research capability in Lincoln, and we are excited to share our expertise and experience with the local communities.
Our name comes from our location - the Joseph Bank Laboratories. Joseph Banks was a world-famous botanist who was born in Lincolnshire and who accompanied James Cook on HMS Endevour to explore the South Pacific. The Banksia genus of plants, found commonly in Australia, bears his name and are of note for their distinctive seed pods that partly inspired our logo that you can see at the top of our website.
Joseph Banks dedicated his life to scientific research and involved himself in many important roles, in Lincolnshire and worldwide. In keeping with his tradition, we thrive on working with local business to understand their research needs, whether that be simple analytical measurements, or more complex development of novel methods, new products or alternative processes. We aim to bring world-leading technological innovations to help industries of Lincolnshire and East Midlands.
We can work on jobs that are small "one-offs" as well as in-depth, coordinated and inter-disciplinary research projects.
Ultimately, we are guided by you, the potential client, and want to provide cutting edge scientific services to help with your industrial problems.
Costs and Funding schemes
Because we want to provide a local service and to make academic levels of expertise accessible to all businesses, we deliberately try to keep our costs as competitive as possible whilst providing a service that is also as rapid and reliable as possible. However, quality research still costs money and we have access to a range of funding streams that frequently allows you to offset costs against finance schemes.
Schemes are administered through the UK government or, at a local level by The Innovation Programme for Greater Lincolnshire who have available money to undertake proof of principle or innovation work. Please contact us before putting together applications to work with us under any of these schemes, since we can sponsor you through the process.
Since we are in an academic environment, we are also able to access direct government funding for research in which your business might play the role of a sponsor - this is particularly attractive for large research projects at the cutting edge of industrial science where the UK has an identified need. Contact us to explore whether these opportunities are right for your business.
Working with us
We currently have no vacancies for permanent employment, but when we do those will appear here, as well as being advertised locally and nationally.
However, we are always interested in hearing from individuals who would like to undertake further study at the University of Lincoln, particularly in analytical or material sciences. We have a range of potential commercially-relevant research projects that are suitable for studying towards degrees at MRes and PhD level in chemical, biochemical and life sciences.