King's College London

About us

Applications are invited for the prestigious King’s College London Prize Fellowships. We want to recruit outstanding postdoctoral basic or translational scientists who are looking to establish their own independent research careers. These awards will provide a generous salary plus running expenses of up to £30,000 for18-24 months.  They will enable appointees to establish their own research programme at King’s and to compete for intermediate-level post-doctoral fellowships from Research Councils, the Wellcome Trust and other funders. The awards may be held in any part of King’s College London but must be focused on biomedical or health-related research.

About the role

In this role the applicant will be expected to design and conduct a range of experiments in relation to their research project and prepare and present findings of research activity to colleagues for review purposes.

The applicant will draft and submit research papers to appropriate peer reviewed journals and prepare and submit future funding applicants for grants and fellowships.

The applicant will contribute to the overall activities of the research team and department as required and hold responsibility for ensuring equipment is maintained in working order and assist with laboratory upkeep.

The applicant is to always comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety regulations with responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of others in the working environment and ensure confidentiality on all matters and information obtained during the course of their employment.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 24 months.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Higher degree (MD, PhD or equivalent) in a relevant subject area: must have submitted PhD thesis before taking up the post
2. Demonstration of understanding of, and commitment to, an academic career
3. Evidence of team working skills
4. Demonstration of the potential for scientific independence and the ability to lead a research team
5. Significant publications in peer reviewed journals
6. Potential to become a leader in your chosen field

Desirable criteria

1. Prizes or distinctions
2. Postdoctoral research experience in an internationally renowned laboratory (we would normally expect at least 3 years postdoctoral experience).

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

This post may be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and/or Occupational Health clearances depending on the nature of the successful applicant’s research.

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.

Your application must include the following information. We provide an application form to provide guidance on our requirements and help you structure your submission.

• Cover letter (1 page). The cover letter should give an indication of fellowship applications planned or pending.
• Résumé for Researcher (2 pages). This should answer the following questions: ‘How have you contributed to the generation of knowledge?’, ‘How have you contributed to the development of individuals?’, ‘How have you contributed to the wider research community?’, and ‘How have you contributed to broader society?’  See here for more information about these questions:  https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/research-culture/tools-for-support/resume-for-researchers/. A template is also available to download from the Royal Society.
• CV (including 2 referees) including full list of publications (any length)
• Outline of the proposed research project (4 pages)
• Explanation of choice of host Research Department and academic sponsor (1 page)
• Summary of research costs (500 words) - please provide a brief description of your indicative research costs up to £30,000 (this figure excludes your salary costs). If there are exceptional circumstances that mean the project cannot be delivered within this budget, please contact  healthresearchdevelopment@kcl.ac.uk.
• To be considered the applicant must have the support of an academic sponsor at King’s, and must submit a letter of support from their academic sponsor with their application form.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on 11th February 2025. Interview candidates will be expected to present their proposal to an academic review panel and answer questions in discussion with the panel.