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Research Associate in Centre for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

Employer
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Location
London (Greater)
Salary
£38,304 - £39,345 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance
Closing date
31 May 2021

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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


Two Postdoctoral Research Associate positions (PDRA) are available in the Spagnoli lab. in the Centre for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine at King's College, London. Our team uses interdisciplinary approaches to study pancreatic development and stem cells. The candidates will join a Wellcome Trust-funded research programme aiming at studying the pancreatic tissue environment in all its complexity using cutting-edge models.

Single-cell sequencing has unveiled a high degree of cellular heterogeneity within the pancreatic microenvironment and has opened the way for a systematic study of intercellular interactions. We seek to spatially reconstruct the organisation of functional niches in the pancreas and study how they induce distinct pancreatic differentiation programmes using mouse models and human pluripotent stem cells. This will set the stage for manipulating combinatorial 3D organ niches towards engineering pancreatic cells for regenerative medicine.

The research programme will require expertise in transcriptomics, high-resolution imaging, stem cell culture, mouse genetics, computational analytical methods. Applicants should have a recent Ph.D. degree or have submitted his/her Ph.D. thesis. We wish to appoint a PDRA with background in development and stem cell biology and a PDRA with computational background interested in single-cell omics, spatial transcriptomics and image analysis.

The Spagnoli lab. is a young dynamic team, member of the outstanding Centre for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine at King's College London. This is a world-class research environment with all facilities essential for this ambitious research programme.


The posts will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 1 year with possibility of extension for further 4.
Full-time posts - 100% full time equivalent.


Key responsibilities

 

  • Undertake original biomedical research as an integral member of a group working on pancreatic development and stem cells, using animal model (mouse), iPSC, and human fixed tissues
  • Analyze cellular heterogeneity in the pancreatic microenvironment using spatial transcriptomics and high resolution imaging
  • Integrate image analysis with single cell transcriptome information to spatially reconstruct the organisation of functional niches in the pancreas
  • Use most recent computational analysis to identify cell-cell interactions and ligand-receptor pairs (e.g. between pancreatic epithelium and mesenchyme)
  • Develop novel approaches to functional study cell-cell interactions and niche factors in vivo in the mouse and in stem cell-based human models of pancreatic development
  • Assist, supervise and train other members of the group, including students and other research staff in their application in related lab projects
  • Manage the progress and set goals for achievement of project aims in collaboration with team leader including the execution of literature reviews, data collection and analysis, and report
  • Prepare reports on results for verbal and multimedia presentations at regular lab meetings, departmental seminars, national and international meetings
  • Prepare manuscripts for publication in peer review journals or book chapters
  • Facilitate collaboration and networking, which engages and supports the activities of this research
  • Communicate and collaborate with other members of the team
  • Maintain up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive laboratory notes

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

  1. PhD (awarded or near completion) in Biological Sciences or related discipline
  2. Expertise in mouse embryology and development
  3. Expertise in cell culture (ES and/or iPS cells)
  4. General web-lab skills including molecular biology
  5. Expertise in imaging acquisition and analysis (confocal, multiphoton)
  6. Experience in single-cell RNASeq analysis
  7. Strong computing skills: programming skills, competence in the use of imaging analysis software (Image J, Imaris, MATLAB, machine learning)
  8. Track record of publishing in the research area
  9. Excellent communication (oral and written) skills
  10. Self-motivated, with the ability to work under pressure & to meet deadlines
  11. Working and designing experiments independently, excellent record keeping
  12. Able to supervise, work and integrate with others in the laboratory

Desirable criteria

  1. Experience in spatial transcriptomics
  2. Experience in CRISPR-Cas9 approaches

*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
Include a statement of previous and future research interests along with the application (CV, List of publications and the contact information of two or more references).

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearance.

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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