King's College London

About Us

The School of Life Course & Population Sciences is one of six Schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. The School unites over 400 experts in women and children’s health, nutritional sciences, population health and the molecular genetics of human disease. Our research links the causes of common health problems to life’s landmark stages, treating life, disease and healthcare as a continuum. We are interdisciplinary by nature and this innovative approach works: 91 per cent of our research submitted to the Subjects Allied to Medicine (Pharmacy, Nutritional Sciences and Women's Health cluster) for REF was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We use this expertise to teach the next generation of health professionals and research scientists. Based across King’s Denmark Hill, Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Waterloo campuses, our academic programme of teaching, research and clinical practice is embedded across five Departments.

About the role

​​We are looking for a Research Associate in Lung Health and Wellbeing to support the Asthma & Lung UK funded study “Development And Feasibility Of Social Prescribing Of LAughter ClaSses For People With BroncHiectasis (SPLASH)”. The study is led by researchers from Kings College London, with collaborators from University of Southampton. The study will develop a novel intervention of laughter classes as social prescribing for people with bronchiectasis, and will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the new intervention.  It is possible that joining a local group to do laughter “exercises”, can help people with bronchiectasis remove phlegm and improve their mood and quality of life. Before we can test if laughter has these benefits, it is essential to develop and check the best ways that we can run these classes.

​The appointment will be at the grade of Research Associate. The postholder will be a researcher with a strong interest in intervention development, community therapies and co-design. The appointee will have a MSc (or equivalent experience) in health research or social sciences.

​The postholder will be supported to run the day-to-day activities of the study; including the set up the delivery of the intervention site, recruit participants and act as a contact point. They will support the classes in a community setting and complete baseline and follow up assessments. They will also support the development, delivery and analysis of the intervention and continuous refinement and explore the acceptability and fidelity of the intervention. They will also have administrative duties including scheduling, preparing materials, and taking minutes for research and stakeholder meetings. Furthermore, they will support the preparation and dissemination of outputs from the study.

​On a day-to-day basis, the postholder will work with Dr Arietta Spinou, Principal Investigator, https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/arietta-spinou

The post holder will work closely with the interdisciplinary study team to produce at least one first author and additional co-author high quality and impactful publications. They will be supported to present the work at conferences. They will be supported to establish a career plan and to complete development activities to help them to achieve their planned next step. The post holder will complete the post with a solid foundation in the development of an innovative intervention and delivery of feasibility studies.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an  fixed term contract until 31/10/2026.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. BSc in Physiotherapy or Speech and Language Therapy or Psychology
2. PhD qualified in a relevant subject area *
3. Experience with study logistics, including recruitment, ethics/governance processes, data collection and analysis, and liaising with stakeholders
4. Experience working with individuals with chronic health conditions and/or in community-based settings
5. Experience in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and/or community engagement in health research
6. Experience in writing for peer-reviewed publications
7. Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias

* 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. 

Desirable criteria

1. ​Experience in delivering or co-developing health or wellbeing interventions, particularly in community-based or psychosocial contexts
2. Training or practical experience in behavioural science, group facilitation, or psychosocial interventions (e.g., laughter therapy, CBT, mindfulness)
3. Experience in interacting with patients with respiratory conditions

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 page. 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.  ​Candidates are strongly encouraged to specifically address the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification in their covering letter. 

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.