King's College London

About us

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS) provides an outstanding multi-disciplinary environment for the pursuit of cutting-edge cardiovascular and metabolic research. We study the fundamental molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that underly normal and abnormal cardiovascular and metabolic function and drive the translation of this strong basic science into advances in clinical practice. Our community of world-renowned researchers have access to state-of-the art core facilities and expertise, including facilities for high-throughput screening and high content imaging, multimodality in vivo imaging, proteomics, spatial and single-cell transcriptomics. As part of King’s Health Partners, we have an excellent environment for basic-clinical interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development. The School hosts the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at King's, which brings together a unique range of internationally recognised scientists and clinicians from across the School and King’s College London.

More information: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/scmms.

About the role

Applications are invited for a talented and enthusiastic postdoctoral scientist to join Professor Cathy Shanahan’s laboratory at the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences of King's College London. The postholder will engage in internationally-leading research in the field of vascular calcification and take a role in determining the future path of this research. The post will involve data collection, analysis and report writing and attendance to present research findings and papers at internal academic meetings and external professional conferences.  We are looking for a conscientious and committed member of the team who is willing to facilitate collaboration and networking to support the activities of the Shanahan group.

The post holder will report to Professor Cathy Shanahan and join an internationally recognised team of scientists focussing on understanding the role of smooth muscle cells in vascular calcification. Using both in vitro and in vivo model systems this project will identify key regulators of calcification and their targets and test whether novel therapeutics targeting these pathways can ameliorate calcification.  The candidate should have experience in tissue culture, cell biology and data analysis and a keen interest in vascular research.  Experience in spatial or single-cell transcriptomics and bioinformatics or high throughput screening is highly desirable. The successful candidate will join a research group within the BHF Centre of Research Excellence which provides an excellent highly multidisciplinary environment with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.  The successful candidate will also be part of an International, LeDucq Network (COMET) focussed on discovery and translation in the field of vascular calcification.

Individuals should be committed to their own personal career development. There will be opportunities to contribute to the supervision of PhD and Masters students and other educational activities as appropriate to the stage of your career.  Individuals should undertake any reasonable duties that may be relevant to the role outline and to contribute to publications arising from this research.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30th December 2027.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD in biological discipline or equivalent (or pending results) 
2. Ability to initiate and maintain a high-quality research programme in the specified scientific area 
3. Major contribution to the design and execution of an experimental research program 
4. Excellent communication skills 
5. Managing an independent research project 
6. Proactive and self-motivated 
7. Commitment and dedication to the project 
8. Excellent interpersonal and team work skills

Desirable criteria

1. Experience with cell culture techniques 
2. Experience in cell biology techniques  
3. Good publication record and evidence of contribution to writing 
4. Experience working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams 
5. Experience in the field of vascular calcification  

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 is subject to Occupational Health clearances.

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.

Interviews are due to be held on November 5th and 6th 2024.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.