Postdoctoral Research Associate

This research-focused role will be to support the European Commission-funded project, ‘Nanoparticles in Environment and Medical Research’.  This project is designed to increase the research capacity of Kosovo in the areas of environment and medical research, through a focus on ‘nano’. More information on the project can be found on www.nanokos.org .

The post-holder is expected to carry out laboratory work incorporated in this project, which will centre on the design of novel nanomedicines, primarily based on extracellular vesicles, for mucosal nucleic acid delivery. In addition, the post holder is expected to support additional project activities such as supervising researchers from the University of Prishtina (Kosovo) visiting King’s for internships, providing training and participating in workshops. As part of this, the post-holder is expected to make 1-2 short visits to Kosovo to provide training in ‘nano’ techniques, including nanoparticle characterisation. The post holder will be working closely together with project partners from Universities of Prishtina, Milan and Parma.

The post holder will be responsible to Dr Driton Vllasaliu. 

About the Faculty

The Faculty of Life Science & Medicine at King's College London is one of Europe's largest centres for biomedical research and teaching. The School’s academic expertise is globally acclaimed in a wide range of basic and applied sciences, continuing a rich legacy of pioneering King's scientists. Many of the research groups were top rated in the last HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise.

The Faculty’s students enjoy unrivalled learning opportunities, supported by strong partnerships with industry and healthcare organisations. At both undergraduate and postgraduate level, students benefit from the School’s first-class facilities and those of its partners, including the world-renowned partner NHS Trusts.

As the academic partner of choice for some of the world’s leading businesses the Faculty of Life Science & Medicine is shaping the future of healthcare through its membership of the government’s Global Medical Excellence Cluster and its award-winning spin out companies.

The Faculty is based at the Guy’s (London Bridge) and Waterloo Campuses. The two campuses are located in close proximity to each other on the vibrant South Bank. The facilities for teaching and research at the Guy’s and Waterloo Campuses have been greatly enhanced since 1998 through a capital investment programme of approximately £200 million, which has provided state-of-the-art laboratories and a high-quality learning environment.

Within the Faculty, research divisions provide the focus for the organisation of research activity while teaching is delivered by discipline-based departments.

The Waterloo Campus provides the home for the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, the Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division, and the Vascular Biology section of the Cardiovascular Division. Some aspects of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science activity are located on the Guy’s Campus. Teaching is organised by the Departments of Pharmacy & Forensic Science, Nutrition and Dietetics. Specialist facilities include SRIF-funded Genomics and Mass Spectrometry centres, a radioisotope suite, cell culture facilities, a Biological Services Unit, a metabolic unit for human feeding studies and high-quality library and IT provision. There are excellent analytical facilities including ultracentrifuge, NMR spectroscopy, HPLC, GC, GC/NIMS, GC/EIMS, GC/MS-MS, LC/MS-MS, ICP-OES and ICP-mass spectrometry equipment (see also http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ms-facility ).

About the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science

From molecules to medicine

The Institute of Pharmaceutical Science (IPS) is concerned with gaining a detailed understanding of the human pathological state and employing this knowledge to discover, design, develop and deliver drugs to the patient with a view to managing disease. It provides the multidisciplinary approach required to contribute to the overall development of pharmacologically active compounds from their earliest stages of conception at the bench through their presentation as medicines, to the analysis of their use within the community. IPS is one of the largest divisions in the health schools and is currently organised in five groups: Pharmaceutical Biophysics, Chemical Biology, Drug Delivery, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Clinical Practice and Medication Use. There is a vibrant PhD programme with more than 100 students, and a comprehensive suite of postgraduate taught programmes.

In the Research Excellence Framework 2014, based on ‘power’, a factor taking into account the quality of the research output and the number of researchers assessed, King’s College London was ranked first in the UK out of the 83 universities that made returns in Unit of Assessment 3, to which IPS contributed.

The Institute of Pharmaceutical Science has strong links with many of the other research divisions at King’s College London and consequently has developed a critically important central role in the total research effort of the College. Staff have a substantial number of collaborations at a local, national and international level. Following the accreditation of King’s Health Partners, our Academic Health Sciences Centre, IPS joined three NHS trust pharmacy departments (Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts) and the Guys Drugs Research Unit to form the Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Academic Group. The aim is to cement the collaboration between staff in the Institute and the NHS Trusts and achieve excellence in service provision, research, and in education and training.

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 12 months.

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

The key responsibilities and objectives of the post are: 

• Research and scholarship. The appointee will perform laboratory research related to the project. The appointee will attend regular progress meetings to ensure the successful conduct of the project. They will also be involved in data analysis and dissemination of research, including working on publications and attending meetings/conferences.  
• Supervision of researchers.
• raining provision. 
• Participation and contribution to project workshops.   

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.

Essential criteria  

• Degree in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Science, Biological Science, Chemical/Materials Science or similar
• PhD in Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Science*
• Research experience in nanomedicine
• Research experience in cell culture
• Time and resource management
• Ability to engage in multiple research projects simultaneously
• Supervision of undergraduate students in research projects  
• Support with supervision of PhD students  
• Excellent communication and research dissemination skills
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills
• Publications

Desirable criteria

• Research experience with extracellular vesicles

*includes candidates that are near completion of a PhD, e.g. those who have submitted their PhD thesis.

* 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.

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearance.