King's College London

About Us

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS), is one of six schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine (FoLSM) at King College London. The School drives translation of world-leading basic science into advances in clinical practices with activities focusing on the Cardiac Biomedicine Department of Diabetes and Vascular Biomedicine.

About the Role

Applications are invited for the position of Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Diabetes at King’s College London (KCL), working in the laboratories of Dr. Gavin Bewick.

This is a Wellcome Trust funded project lead by Imperial College in collaboration with KCL and CALTECH entitled Dynamic 3D super-resolution ultrasound imaging of the micro-circulation and genetically encoded acoustic reporters in vivo.

Our vision is to generate and combine a powerful yet highly accessible in vivo imaging platform and genetically engineered contrast agents, enabling non-invasive whole body acoustic microscopy of tissue microcirculation and cellular and molecular biomarkers.

Initial funding is for an 18-month foundation phase with the possibility of a further 4.5 years funding for a scale up phase. During the foundation phase the successful candidate will work as part of team and be responsible for developing acoustic reporters and their validation in vitro. They will have a PhD in a relevant biomedical sciences subject and have expertise in in vitro assessment of cell function and genetic engineering. Prior experience of gut stem cell biology and gut organoid culture would be a distinct advantage.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st May 2026.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1.     PhD qualified  *

2.     Expertise in general molecular cell biology techniques such as cell/tissue culture, qRT-PCR, immunoassays, immunohistochemistry.

3.     Experience with genetic manipulation eg. Crispr, PiggyBAC

4.     Willing and able to work in a team.

5.     Ability to keep clear and well-organised laboratory notes and records.

6.     Ability to plan and prioritise workload.

7.     Good communication (both written and verbal) and presentation skills.

8.     Self-motivated, ability to work independently.

Desirable criteria

1.     Experience with culturing mouse or human gut organoids

2.     Experience of in vitro assessment of cell function including viability, apoptosis, proliferation, ATP generation, secretory capacity, FACS.

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.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

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.

Interviews are due to be held on mid January 2025

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