King's College London

About Us

The Santos Lab is a clinical translational research group formed of clinicians and scientists at various career stages. Our research focuses on food allergy – improving the diagnosis of food allergy and our understanding of the immune mechanisms of food allergy and oral tolerance to identify new targets for a definitive treatment. We are a friendly, enthusiastic, supportive and inclusive team that thrives on collaboration across disciplines. We are proud of our positive work culture and our shared commitment to making a real impact through outstanding research. We are part of the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine of King’s College London, based in central London, with the lab near London Bridge and the clinical trials unit near Westminster.

About the role

Food allergies are increasing, affect 8% of children and 10% of adults and can be life-threatening. With no cure, patients must avoid allergens and carry emergency medication, leading to restricted social lives and anxiety. While immunotherapy can raise the reaction threshold, it does not eliminate life-style limitations and risk of reactions. Urgent action is needed to develop definitive treatments for food allergies.

Exposure to food allergens through the gastrointestinal tract is tolerogenic. Peanut consumption from the first year of life reduced peanut allergy by 81% in a randomised-controlled trial. This impressive effect was allergen-specific and sustained over time. However, the underlying immune mechanisms of oral tolerance induction to peanut are not well understood.

In this research programme, we will use unique samples from young children undergoing their first oral exposure to peanut to explore the changes in the immune response to peanut induced by oral exposure. This work will be done in close collaboration with the Neves Lab at King’s College London, where a novel co-culture of human gut organoid models will be established with patients’ immune cells. This collaborative effort will allow us to pinpoint key pathways involved in establishing oral tolerance to food allergens and explore how they can be modulated to develop curative treatments for food allergies.

The postdoctoral research associate is expected to develop the project, to maintain accurate records of performed experiments, to analyse and summarize research results, to write reports and manuscripts, to prioritize work and meet deadlines, to join in research group and departmental activities, and to contribute to their positive and inclusive research culture.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), based at Guy’s Campus, and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 3 years, starting no earlier than the 1st November 2025.

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. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD awarded in immunology or related areas *
2. Knowledge and relevant laboratorial experience in immunology (preference lymphocytes), including experience with flow cytometry
3. Knowledge and relevant laboratorial experience in cell culture
4. Very good organisational skills and meticulous at work with strong work ethic and good research practice
5. Good communication skills, orally and in writing, along with strong interpersonal skills
6. Good track record with previous experience in contributing to the preparation of manuscripts and/or grant applications

* 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. Evidence of initiative, resilience, proactivity and productivity with high motivation and ability to persevere
2. Experience with spectral flow cytometry
3. Experience in analysis of scRNAseq data using R
4. Experience in working with human blood samples
5. Previous experience in supervising/teaching students

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.

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

Interviews are due to be held between the 18th and 30th of September 2025.