King's College London

About us

King’s College London (King’s) is a world-leading Russell Group research institution. The work will be undertaken in the Centre for Host Microbiome Interactions, which is an integral component of the King's Faculty of Oral, Dental and Craniofacial Sciences. All Centre Principal Investigators are recognised world leaders in host-pathogen interactions, microbial pathogenesis, mucosal disease, immunology, and oral cancer. The Centre possesses core facilities designed for molecular, cellular, immunological, microbiological and animal research, and extensive scientific expertise in complementary research programmes.

About the role

Candida albicans is usually a commensal organism of mucosal surfaces but under suitably predisposing conditions can cause severe morbidity and life-threatening infections. C. albicans possesses several virulence factors that promote disease including the ability to form hyphae and secrete the toxin candidalysin. However, the regulatory factors that control the yeast-hypha transition and direct pathogenic and commensal mechanisms are unclear. A Research Associate will employ molecular, protein, cellular, immunological and ‘omic’ technologies to investigate the yeast-hypha transition*,* candidalysin gene (ECE1) regulation, and the host response against pathogenic and commensal strains of C. albicans in vivo. They will be funded by the BBSRC and based in the laboratories of Professor Julian Naglik and Dr Jonathan Richardson at King’s College London, where they will produce independent, original research within the group.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 29 June 2028 or 3 years from start date

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 Sciences, Molecular Biology/Genetics, Microbiology, Immunology or related discipline.
2. Research experience in fungal pathogenesis, especially Candida.
3. Research experience in molecular biology and genetics i.e. gene regulation, transcription factor binding.
4. Research experience in fungal CRISPR technology.
5. Research experience in cell biology technologies i.e. signalling.
6. Research experience with animal (mouse) work.
7. Good verbal and written communication skills.
8. Good practical and organisation skills.
9. Computer skills (Office, information technology, bioinformatics).

Desirable criteria

1. Personal Licence holder (for BSU work).
2. Research experience in cell culture.
3. Research experience in ‘omic’ technologies i.e. ChIP-Seq, CHIP-SICAP, (single cell) RNASeq.
4. Research experience with immunological technologies i.e. westerns, antibody/T cell assays.

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.

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

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.