King's College London

About Us

The Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine is one of the largest and most successful centres for research and education in the UK.  The Faculty was created as a result of the merger of elements of the School of Biomedical Sciences with the School of Medicine. The merger brings together basic, translational and clinical scientists to provide new cross-School research collaborations while optimising the deployment of teaching expertise across the Faculty. The Faculty has unparalleled expertise in basic, translational and clinical research in: analytical and forensic science; asthma and allergy; biophysics and cell biology; cancer; cardiovascular; nutrition and diabetes; genetics; infection and immunology; imaging and biomedical engineering; transplantation immunology; pharmaceutical science; physiology and women's health. We also have thriving research programmes in global health, and health and social care.

Within FoLSM, the School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences is a cutting-edge research and teaching School dedicated to development, translation and clinical application within medical imaging and computational modelling technologies. Our objective is to facilitate research and teaching guided by clinical questions and is aimed at novelty, understanding of physiology and pathophysiology as well as development of new diagnostic tools and therapies. In this way, basic science can be rapidly translated into clinical applications (and vice versa). The School consists of eight research departments: Cardiovascular Imaging, Cancer Imaging, Early Life Imaging, Imaging Chemistry & Biology, Biomedical Computing, Surgical & Interventional Engineering, Imaging Physics & Engineering and Digital Twins for Healthcare. Our staff and students comprise physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians and clinicians working together in a highly cross-disciplinary way. The chemists and biologists develop new contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals for molecular imaging; the physicists and engineers develop imaging hardware and instrumentation; and the computer scientists and mathematicians develop image-processing and computational modelling methodologies; meanwhile, the clinicians apply them in the clinic in a wide range of areas, such as cardiology, vascular surgery, cancer, neurology, paediatrics, nuclear medicine and radiology. This interdisciplinary group encourages the generation of projects far beyond classic research by combining the skills and equipment of basic scientists with those of clinical researchers.  Our proactive approach to collaboration with other departments and Schools, both in basic sciences and clinical sciences, means that we widen the use of imaging and maximise the benefit to patients. There is a close and vital relationship in our work between problem solving in clinical and biomedical application areas and methodological research in the basic disciplines.

The King’s College London and Guy’s & St Thomas PET Centre is one of the leading clinical PET centres in the UK with a large and varied clinical service and a substantial and expanding research track record. Our work includes carrying out clinically related and basic research with collaborators from the Hospital, the Medical School and other institutions as well as providing a clinical PET service for patients under the NHSE PET II national contract and.  We currently scan over 8,000 patients annually, with reporting done in house by our consultants and a small team of clinical research fellows.  Facilities include a cyclotron and radiochemistry facility for production of routine clinical and research radiotracers (with around 3 new radiopharmaceuticals being added per year. The scanning facility comprises 2 new Siemens Quadra long axial field-of-view (Total Body) PET (TBP) scanners (St Thomas’), making us one of only two centres in the world with this capability, a Siemens Biograph PET-CT scanner (Guy’s Cancer) and a Siemens mMR simultaneous PET-MR scanner (St Thomas’).

The Research Department of Imaging Chemistry and Biology comprises a group of ca. 50 scientific and clinical researchers who drive translational radiopharmaceutical development, theragnostics, nanotechnology, metallomics, immuno-imaging, metabolic imaging, functional cardiac imaging, radiobiology, and engineering solutions for GMP radiopharmaceutical production. Embedding highly innovative scientists alongside clinical staff in a hospital environment has offered an unparalleled opportunity for translational impact that is being realised across the world-leading research infrastructure.

Imaging Chemistry and Biology comprises a group of ca. 50 scientific and clinical researchers who drive translational radiopharmaceutical development, theragnostics, nanotechnology, metallomics, immuno-imaging, metabolic imaging, functional cardiac imaging, radiobiology, and engineering solutions for GMP radiopharmaceutical production. Embedding highly innovative scientists alongside clinical staff in a hospital environment has offered an unparalleled opportunity for translational impact that is being realised across the world-leading research infrastructure. We are building on >20 years of investment in radiopharmaceuticals at King’s including 2 cyclotrons, 31 hot cells and preclinical and clinical imaging facilities providing a pipeline to translation (total investment >£40m). Our team contributes to research and innovation on a global scale. We hold editorial positions at prestigious journals, contribute widely to the scientific community, and hold senior positions in learned societies. We have focussed on integrating public engagement within our departments, sharing best practices both internally and externally. Our influence extends to national and international strategies and guidelines, including UK Government policy.

About the role

The School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences (BMEIS) is seeking two exceptional clinical academics to join its PET Centre and Research Departments at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). Each post-holder will play a major role in the clinical, academic and teaching work of the School and will be responsible to the Head of the PET Centre (Prof Alexander Hammers) and Head of the Research Department of Imaging, Chemistry & Biology (ICAB, Prof Stephen Archibald). Clinically, they will be accountable to the PET Centre Clinical Lead and Clinical Directors of the GSTT Clinical Imaging & Medical Physics Directorate. They will be responsible, together with consultant colleagues, for the provision of PET imaging services to patients referred by GSTT and other NHS Trusts and Healthcare Providers.

Each post-holder will be integral to the delivery of the PET Centre embedded research programmes and clinical service, in particular driving new studies that exploit the enhanced capabilities of our new TBP scanners as part of the National Total Body PET Imaging Platform (NPIP). They will support undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes, as well as supervising postgraduate students and clinical and research fellows to fulfil training requirements. Post-holders should be fully trained and have extensive experience in clinical PET imaging with relevant nuclear medicine and / or radiology training and have experience and commitment to academic activities including research and teaching. They must be eligible (i) to be fully registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and (ii) for an Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) licence, hold Licence to Practise and be on the Specialist Register.

The post-holder should be fully trained and have extensive experience in clinical PET imaging with relevant nuclear medicine and / or radiology training and have experience and commitment to academic activities including research and teaching. They must be eligible (i) to be fully registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and (ii) for a Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) licence, hold Licence to Practise and be on the Specialist Register. Clinical duties will be shared with the other clinical members of the team and include reporting and MDM attendance, appropriate vetting of referrals and effective communications with referrers, ongoing review and development of imaging protocols in conjunction with the technical teams, and close working with the PET technologist and physics teams to ensure best practice and safety is observed for all patients. Academic activities will be centred on topics of unmet need, such as TBP imaging for cancer diagnosis, theragnostics, systems biology, advanced metabolic imaging, new radiopharmaceutical development and cell tracking, including dynamic imaging. Research activities will also link to clinical trials and studies, as well as integrating PET with other imaging modalities within BMEIS/GSTT, e.g. cardiovascular MRI.

Clinical duties will be shared with the other clinical members of the team and include reporting and multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) attendance, appropriate vetting of referrals and effective communications with referrers, ongoing review and development of imaging protocols in conjunction with the technical teams, and close working with the PET technologist and physics teams to ensure best practice and safety is observed for all patients. Academic activities will be centred on topics of unmet need, such as TBP imaging for cancer diagnosis, theragnostics, systems biology, advanced metabolic imaging, organ interactions (e.g. heart-brain axis), new radiopharmaceutical development, inflammation/tumour microenvironment, and cell tracking, and may include dynamic imaging and kinetic modelling. Research activities will also link to clinical trials and studies, as well as integrating PET with other imaging modalities within BMEIS/GSTT, e.g. cardiovascular MRI, low-field (0.55T, 0.0064T) and high-field (3T, 7T) MRI.

This is a full-time post (40 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. Full GMC registration with licence to practice and eligible for entry on Specialist Register for Nuclear Medicine or Radionuclide Radiology MRCP (UK) or equivalent qualification
2. Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) (UK) or equivalent qualification such as Fellowship of Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR) with higher training in Nuclear Medicine SCMR/EACVI/BSCMR or equivalent certification in Cardiovascular MR imaging – Level 3
3. Ability to hold an Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) licence for PET radiopharmaceuticals
4. Experience of independent reporting of oncological PET studies
5. Experience of and commitment to leading and supporting research, and publication record in relevant discipline, with demonstration of ability to secure grant income
6. Experience of regular teaching and training commitment (undergraduate and postgraduate)
7. Commitment to the concepts and application of clinical governance, audit and service improvement
8. Ability to take individual responsibility for planning and undertaking own work. Ability to work as an effective member of a multidisciplinary team with flexible working patterns

Desirable criteria

1. MD/PhD in relevant discipline
2. Experience of non-oncological PET (e.g. neuro, cardiac)
3. Experience in conducting multi-centre research studies

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.

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.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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 will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.