Research Associate in Immunobiology

Job id: 089753. Salary: £43,205 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 17 May 2024. Closing date: 05 June 2024.

Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. Department: Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology.

Contact details:Professor Timothy Tree. [email protected]

Location: Guy's Campus. Category: Research.

Situated at the Guy’s Hospital Campus, The Immunobiology Department aims to understand the interplay between protective immunological mechanisms and the infections and tumours that challenge human health.  Our research ranges from very basic studies of the molecules and processes that underpin the development and function of immune cells, to novel ways of improving immune function in humans. We are deeply committed to educating and nurturing the next generations of scientists, researchers and clinicians, and deliver a raft of research-inspired programmes for trainees at all career stages.

We are looking for a skilled and highly motivated post-doctoral researcher with an excellent knowledge of human immunology to join the Autoimmunity and Immune Regulation Team led by Professor Tim Tree https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/tree-group ). The team aims to investigate how imbalances in the immune system contribute to range of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and develop and test immunotherapies to stop disease progression.

You will work on a new project investigating why some individuals are genetically protected from developing type 1 diabetes due to the presence of the HLA-DQ6 genotype.  A better understanding of the cellular and molecular basis for DQ6-conferred susceptibility could lead to novel disease prevention strategies including refinements to antigen-specific immunotherapy approaches or adoptive Treg cell therapies. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with and using samples and data from the INNODIA global partnership (https://www.innodia.eu/ )

Your laboratory work will include cutting edge analysis techniques, such as single-cell transcriptional profiling (using 10x Genomics), high dimensional flow cytometry (>30 parameters using CyTek Aurora) and immune cell engineering (lentiviral transduction/ CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing), so experience of analysing complex single-cell data, as well as a strong background in cellular immunology, would be advantageous. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and enjoy the challenge of learning and developing new assays and analysis techniques.

The post is based at Guy’s hospital and will give access to cutting edge core facilities (Flow Cytometry, Genomics and Bioinformatics). Overall, this post represents a unique opportunity for an ambitious scientist to develop a research career in translational immunology. 

This is a full time, and you will be offered an a fixed term contract until December 2026.

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

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

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.

If you encounter any technical difficulties while applying online, please email [email protected]