Postdoctoral Research Associate - Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
- Employer
- KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
- Location
- London (Greater) (GB)
- Closing date
- 23 Nov 2020
View more
- Academic Discipline
- Clinical, Pre-clinical & Health, Medicine & Dentistry
- Job Type
- Academic Posts, Postdocs, Research Related, Research Associate
- Contract Type
- Fixed Term
- Hours
- Full Time
Job Details
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Job ID: 008864
Salary: £39,345 including London Weighting Allowance Posted: 22-Oct-2020
Closing date: 23-Nov-2020
Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine Department: Cancer & Pharma Sciences School Office Contact details: Dr James Arnold , james.n.arnold@kcl.ac.uk
Research
Job description
The Arnold lab (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/research/divisions/cancer/research/groups/tig) have an opportunity for a Postdoctoral Associate to join their Tumour Immunology Group at King's College London. The post, which is a FTE fixed term contract for 1 year (in the first instance), will utilise in vivo models of cancer to investigate a therapeutic approach to harness the anti-tumour immune response.
Immune suppression in the tumour microenvironment (TME) is a major hurdle to the success of Immunotherapy in the clinic. We have demonstrated that the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which is expressed by a subset of tumour associated macrophages (Nature Communications, 2018), plays an important role in immune suppression within the TME (Clinical Cancer Research, 2018). Cytotoxic chemotherapies, routinely used in the clinic, can be used to elicit anti-tumour immune responses. However, it is apparent that different chemotherapies have different immune-stimulating properties. Using preclinical models of cancer, we have been exploring the synergy of HO inhibitors with chemotherapy to achieve immune control of tumour growth.
The current postdoctoral position will build on the previous work from the lab and further the investigation of HO-1 in immune suppression. The project will characterise the chemical properties of an HO inhibitor and then explore its combination with different chemotherapies for evidence of anti-tumour immune control using in vivo murine models of cancer. The project will then immune-profile the TME, both cells and cytokines, following treatment using flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and qRT PCR to explain the biological mechanism of any tumour control achieved. The project aims to further our knowledge of how HO-1 inhibition can synergise with the immune-stimulating effects of chemotherapy.
The Post will be primarily based on the Guy's Campus within the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The candidate will work closely with the principle investigator Dr James Arnold and support a collaboration with Dr Miraz Rahman's lab (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/miraz-rahman). The candidate will more broadly benefit from the interdisciplinary research and academic networks at King's College London.
The successful candidate must have (or be about to receive) a PhD relating to cancer and/or Immunology. Candidates should be proficient in animal (mouse) experimental procedures and phenotyping of cell subsets using flow cytometry. A background in biochemistry/chemistry will also be highly valued.
Key responsibilities
- The successful applicant will be responsible for:
- The day to day running of the project
- Conducting experiments, analysing data and presenting to the supervisor/s
- Supporting more junior members of the laboratory team
- Working towards meeting project milestone deadlines
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
The applicant must have:
- A PhD in a relevant area
- A good track record of research in a relevant area
- Research experience in a Tumour and/or Immunology and/or Chemistry-related project
- Experience using in vivo models; ideally relating to cancer
- To be competent in flow cytometry and its analysis
Desirable criteria
- To have research experience in both a biology and chemistry-related project
- Hold a Home Office Personal Licence
- To have a publication in a respected journal
*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:
Interviews will be held remotely in early December and will include a 10minute presentation of a previous research project that the applicant has conducted.
This advertisement does meet the requirements for a Certificate of Sponsorship under Home Office regulations and therefore the university will be able to offer sponsorship for this role.
Company
King's College London is one of the top 20 universities in the world and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 27,600 students (of whom nearly 10,500 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 6,800 staff.
King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £684 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.
King’s £600 million campaign, World questions|KING’s answers, has delivered huge global impact in areas where King’s has particular expertise. Philanthropic support has funded new research to save young lives at Evelina London Children’s Hospital; established the King’s Dickson Poon School of Law as a worldwide leader in transnational law; built a new Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; allowed unique collaboration between leading neuroscientists to fast-track new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease, depression and schizophrenia at the new Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute; created the Cicely Saunders Institute: the first academic institution in the world dedicated to palliative care, and supported the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership in the Ebola crisis. Donations provide over 300 of the most promising students with scholarships and bursaries each year. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.
- Mini-site
- KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
- Telephone
- +(44)02078365454
- Location
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STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom
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