Job id: 093105. Salary: £37,332 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.
Posted: 24 July 2024. Closing date: 31 July 2024.
Business unit: IoPPN. Department: Psychological Medicine.
Contact details: Dr Alessandra Borsini. alessandra.borsini@kcl.ac.uk
Location: Denmark Hill Campus. Category: Research.
About us
The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a leading centre for mental health and neuroscience research in Europe. Research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness, neurological conditions and other conditions that affect the brain.
The Department of Psychological Medicine focuses on the interface between psychiatry and medicine, psychiatry and occupation, psychiatry and the military, and psychiatry in different settings. The disorders of interest are those of the common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, perinatal psychiatry, psychological oncology, eating disorders and stress related disorders.
About the role
The post-holder will be based in the Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology (SPI) Lab, where the research group investigate how stress hormones and inflammatory responses regulate behaviour and participate in the therapeutic action of psychotropic drugs. They will work with cellular models of neuroinflammation and neurogenesis, using a variety of brain cells (including human neuronal and microglia cell lines). They will design in vitro experimental assays with stress-related challenges, including cortisol and cytokines, and neuroprotective compounds, such as antidepressants, short chain fatty acids, long chain fatty acids, and endocannabinoids. The post holder will be involved in cell work with serum samples previously collected from patients.
The post holder will perform cell culture, cell treatment, protein quantification, gene expression analyses, lipid metabolism and microscopy analyses using high-resolution confocal imaging platforms, such as CellInsight and Opera Phenix. The post holder will use multiplex immunoassay platforms for the detection of high-sensitivity proteins in cell supernatant and blood samples. They will carry out transcriptome analysis, using Partek Genomics Suite, DAVID and Ingenuity software for bioinformatics microarray analyses, as well as statistical analysis with SPSS, and data coding with STATA, R and MATLAB software. The post-holder will provide training and supervision to BSc students and will work closely with other members of the lab (including PhD students and postdoctoral staff).
This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30th September 2026.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates with the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
1. BSc or MSc in neuroscience or related fields
2. Previous lab experience with cell work
3. Previous experience with immunostaining, protein quantification, gene expression and imaging analyses
4. Excellent communication and writing skills
Desirable criteria
1. Ability to work flexibly and independently
2. Ability to problem solve and take initiative
3. Ability to be proactive and organise own time
Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
Further information
We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.
We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.
We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.
To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.
We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.
This post is subject to an Occupational Health clearance.