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Research Associate - St John’s Institute of Dermatology

Employer
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Location
London (Greater)
Salary
£38,304 - £42,652, including London Weighting Allowance
Closing date
6 Dec 2020

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Academic Discipline
Biological Sciences, Life sciences
Job Type
Research Related, Research Associate
Contract Type
Fixed Term
Hours
Full Time

Job Details

Job description

An exciting position is available in the Cutaneous Immunology group led by Dr Paola Di Meglio, at St John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London. The post holder will join a vibrant research group interested in the immune and environmental mechanisms underpinning pathogenesis and outcome to therapies in inflammatory skin disorders. This post will focus on studying the environmentally regulated aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway in psoriasis to develop novel therapeutic strategies which harness its homeostatic function.

The postholder will develop and interrogate murine and humanized in vivo models of skin inflammation, conduct in vitro and ex vivo assays to measure CYP450 enzymatic activity in human and murine specimens, and perform flow cytometric and imaging mass cytometric analysis of human and murine immune cells and tissue, liaising with clinical and academic collaborators.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant biomedical discipline, a background in immunology or pharmacology with expertise in animal models and experience in working with human primary samples and will ideally be available for an immediate start. Prior experience in skin immunology and model of skin inflammation and transplantation will be advantageous.

This post is not CoS compliant and we are unable to offer Visa

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 1 year in the first instance, with the possibility of a further 1 year extension on reaching project milestones.

This is a full-time post.

Key responsibilities

  • Design and implement in vitro and in vivo model systems of skin inflammation and xenotransplantation, suitable for dissecting the role of the AHR/CYP1A1 axis in inflammatory skin disease, including using pharmacological inhibitors of the pathway.
  • Measure CYP1A1 enzymatic activity in human and mouse skin and immune cells
  • Conduct imaging mass cytometry to examine the expression of AHR and CYP1A1 in human and mouse skin
  • Design and implement multi-parameter flow cytometric assays in blood- and skin-derived immune cells
  • Isolate and purify primary immune cells from human and mouse blood and skin
  • Conduct mammalian cell culture, transient and stable transfection of plasmid DNA and SiRNA.
  • Perform isolation of high-quality RNA from human and mouse cells and tissue and RT-PCR analysis.
  • Work flexible hours as required by the experiments (e.g. being available for drug dosing at weekends)
  • Work through close interactions with the clinical team supporting the project (Prof Smith at SJID, Dr Lynch at Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine, research nurses at SJID)
  • Assists the Lab Head in managing the animal colony
  • Liaise with mass spectrometry facility to measure AHR ligands in human biological fluids by LC-MS
  • Work closely and collegially within the Cutaneous Immunology group that currently include one Research Associate, a PhD student and one Biomedical Research Technician plus a variable number of UG/PGR students on short placements
  • Contribute to general laboratory tasks
  • Support other members of the group and contribute expertise to other projects within the Cutaneous Immunology group, as appropriate
  • Contributions to writing of reports, grant applications, new patent applications and publications for appropriate scientific journals and present research findings at scientific meetings.
  • Facilitate and maintain effective communication within immediate research group and with clinical and academic groups within the Institute/School
  • Liaise regularly and effectively with clinical, research and admin colleagues within the Institute to ensure work is performed in accordance with Health and Safety and Human Tissue Act regulations
  • Work effectively to specific deliverables and to strict deadlines
  • Help with supervision of PhD students, placement students and junior staff.
  • Trouble-shoot and optimize experimental protocols, including flow cytometry panels and animal experiments
  • Keep up with research developments in the field of psoriasis, cutaneous immunology, immunology and apply knowledge to experimental interpretations
  • Record, analyse and write up the results of experiments maintaining an up to date and comprehensible electronic record of laboratory work and store it securely.
  • Prepare and present findings of research activity to colleagues for review purposes
  • Present work and other material at laboratory meetings
  • Present work and other material at meetings with collaborators as required
  • Present research findings at scientific meetings as required
  • Prepare progress reports on research for funding bodies as required
  • Prepare data for and contribute to writing of manuscripts and grant applications as required
  • Always work in compliance with the Ethical regulations imposed by King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust and the
    Human Tissue Act.
  • Always work in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
  • Carry out tasks that require the learning of certain skills
  • Required to be aware of the risks in the laboratory and clinical work environment

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

  • PhD awarded in a biomedical discipline relevant to the project, i.e. Immunology, Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences, or equivalent near completion
  • Experience of in vivo animal models
  • Experience with primary murine samples (isolation and culture of cells from tissues)
  • Experience with primary human samples (isolation and culture of cells from blood and tissues)
  • Experience in multiparameter flow cytometry
  • Experience with pharmacological and/or enzyme activity assays
  • Skilled in molecular biology techniques (RT-PCR, SiRNA, transfections)
  • Experience in data analysis, including statistics
  • With a track record of publication in high quality scientific journals
  • Excellent team player able to work as part of an interdisciplinary team
  • Willing to work flexibly in accordance with the needs of the project to meet milestones
  • Organised, highly motivated, able to take initiative in problem solving and working independently

Desirable criteria

  • Experience in skin transplant models
  • Current HO PIL holder or last held one within 3 years
  • Experience in animal colony management
  • Experience in Immunohistochemistry
  • Experience in bioinformatic analysis of large datasets

*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.

This advertisement does not meet the requirements for a Certificate of Sponsorship under Home Office regulations and therefore the university will not 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.

Company info
Mini-site
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Telephone
+(44)02078365454
Location
STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

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