About King’s:

Situated within the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine at King’s College London, the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CGTRM) serves as the heart of a thriving scientific and clinical community dedicated to investigating stem cells and their therapeutic potentials. Part of the CGTRM is based at the 28th floor of Guy’s Hospital Tower Wing. The CGTRM equipped with large open plan labs, iPSCs cell culture rooms, histology station, confocal microscopies, and state of the art imaging equipment.

About the role:

Located in the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (Guy’s Hospital Tower, 28th Floor), the Sancho Lab focuses in studying molecular cues behind cell fate decisions in pancreases. Our main goal in the lab is to decipher the fundamental regulatory networks involved in pancreatic cell fate decisions using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and to apply this knowledge to new strategies in regenerative medicine for diabetes.

We seek a talented, highly motivated and independent Postdoctoral Research Associate to become part of our vibrant, cooperative and energetic team, to focus on a recently awarded Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge project funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation, JDRF and Diabetes UK partnership. This project aims to investigate innovative mechanisms to enhance the survival and functionality of beta cells derived from iPSCs following transplantation.

Candidates should hold a PhD in Stem Cell-related fields or be in the process of obtaining one. The candidate should be proficient in performing iPSC culture, iPSC to beta cell differentiation, gene editing, confocal imaging, image analysis, western blot and molecular biology.  Providing detailed record keeping for experiments; communicating regularly and effectively with other lab members, ability to work independently with precision while maintaining high standards is also required.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract for 36 months.

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.

About You:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

1. PhD submitted / awarded in iPSC or Stem Cells related field
2. Experience with cell culture techniques, including maintenance of iPSCs and differentiation into pancreatic cell types
3. Experience in gene editing, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, image analysis and molecular biology
4. Experience in presenting stem cell work in international conferences
5. Experience in publishing scientific articles in quartile 1 journals 
6. Good organisation skills and attention to detail
7. Self-motivated with the ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines

Desirable Criteria

1. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative research environment.
2. Familiarity with bioinformatics tools and data analysis methods for omics data
3. Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

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

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held within the first 2 weeks of June.

This role does meet the requirements of the Home Office and therefore we are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who require the right to work in the UK.