Research Assistant, Department of Inflammation Biology

Job ID: 020945

Salary: £32,676 - £37,297 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance 

Posted: 19-Apr-2021

Closing date: 03-May-2021

Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Department: Department of Inflammation Biology

Contact details: Professor Giovanna Lombardi, Dr Niloufar Safinia, Giovanna.lombardi@kcl.ac.uk, n.safinia@nhs.net

Denmark Hill Campus   Research    

Job description
The Institute of Liver Studies and the Department of Inflammation Biology at King’s College London invite applications for research assistant with experience in human and mouse immunology, liver transplantation, and regulatory T cell biology.

The position requires established expertise in molecular biology and T cell transduction, in processing human serum and liver tissue samples, culturing and maintaining human and mouse regulatory T cells and proven skills in data recording and reporting. Key responsibilities and objectives in line with the role profile will be to conduct human and mouse regulatory T cell experiments both in vitro and in vivo in mouse models in the field of liver transplantation. 
 
We are looking for a candidate with a background in and established expertise in in vivo work and the genetic manipulation of T cells to apply this expertise to human and mouse Tregs. Key responsibilities and objectives in line with the role profile will be to isolate immune cell subsets and conduct in vitro experiments involving gene transduction, lymphocyte expansion with subsequent in vivo experiments, using the generated cells.
 
The candidate will contribute to the general day-to-day running of the research laboratories and attend weekly research group meetings. They will contribute where possible and necessary to publications arising from the research projects. They will from time to time, perform other duties appropriate to the grade of the post. 
 
The post holder will liaise with research colleagues and staff at all levels, contribute to the production of research reports and prepare data for presentations and/ or publications. They will plan day-to-day research activities and will problem solve independently and with other project members on issues arising within the project. The post holder will contribute to collaborative decision making with colleagues on the project. Work must be performed at the highest quality and the candidate is required to keep up to date with advances in the regulatory T cell immunotherapy field. They will provide a high level of expertise in a range of laboratory techniques. They will train/ support other colleagues/ Phd students and research assistants in specialist research techniques and collaborate on joint projects as required.
Work with human biological specimens, T cells, data entry and flow cytometry will be required virtually daily. Pastoral care in consideration of others and respect of confidentiality are key requirements. Irregular hours in accordance with the needs of the role are required especially in order to maintain the cell cultures and mouse models. This appointment is subject to Occupational Health clearance. It should also be noted that breach of confidentiality or health and safety regulations are serious offences which may lead to dismissal.
 
This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 12 months.
This is a full-time post.

Key responsibilities

• Molecular biology and transduction of T cells (Generation of CAR Tregs, expressing HO-1 with downstream experiments)
• In vivo work to investigate the in vivo function of the CAR-HO-1 Tregs
• Work with human serum and tissue samples
• Data processing and analysis
• Training of other fellows/ Research associates/PhD students in the laboratory 

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.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

• A clear understanding of the research environment and laboratory activities 
• Expertise in lenti and retro viruses gene transduction of T cells
• Expertise/ understanding of CAR T cell biology 
• Expertise in liver immunology and processing human serum/ tissue samples 
• Transplant immunology and tolerance 
• Treg biology 
• Working knowledge of laboratory Health & Safety, risk assessment, COSHH 
• Excellent computer skills. Competence in Excel, MS Word, Powerpoint, etc.
• Previous experience working in a research laboratory 
• Experience processing human serum and liver tissue samples 
• Previous experience with regulatory Foxp3+ T cell culture 
• Experience of cell biology / molecular biology / imaging / flow techniques 
• Experience processing human serum and liver tissue samples 
• Experience working with human and mouse regulatory T cells 
• Experience working as technical support in cell biology laboratory 
• Experience with in vivo mouse models 

Desirable criteria

• Experience in CRISP-Cas9 technology 
• At least two years’ experience as a research assistant 
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, problem-solving attitude 
• Good oral and written communication skills 
• Excellent record keeping and attention to details  

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearance.