King's College London

About Us

About the Faculty

The Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine is an internationally renowned centre of excellence in biomedical sciences, situated in the heart of London. We undertake ground-breaking research, basic science to translational, to improve the wellbeing of our communities, and engage with organisations around the world to create real value for society. There are presently nearly 500 academic staff, nearly 800 research staff and over 700 professional services staff within the Faculty. We have over 7000 students pursuing an extensive range of undergraduate programmes (including medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, biosciences, biomedical engineering) as well as masters and PhD programmes. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm

The Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine comprises a Centre for Education and six Schools:

• School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences
• School of Basic & Medical Biosciences
• School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences
• School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences
• School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences
• School of Life Course & Population Sciences

About the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences

The School (Head, Professor Mauro Giacca) provides an outstanding multi-disciplinary environment for the pursuit of cutting-edge cardiovascular and metabolic research (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/scmms). Our current research spans the fundamental molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that underly normal and abnormal cardiovascular and metabolic function and drive the translation of this strong basic science into advances in clinical practice. 

The School occupies facilities across the Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Denmark Hill campuses of King’s College London and comprises over 70 clinical and non-clinical academic groups, hosting 400 personnel and 110 PhD students. Clinical and pre-clinical researchers at King’s have access to a state-of-the art core facilities and expertise, including multimodality in vivo imaging, clinical research facilities, experimental medicine hub, high-throughput robotic screening, comprehensive 3 genomics/proteomics/metabolomics/single cell analyses, integrative invasive and non-invasive human physiology, comprehensive murine physiology and genetic modification, etc. 

There is an innovative clinical informatics platform integrated with large language models for the analyses of electronic health records across the King’s Health Partner NHS Trusts. Assisted by the close collaboration between clinical and academic colleagues and the outstanding infrastructure, all the building blocks are in place for the generation of novel advances with major clinical impact. 

The School hosts a range of training programmes including three PhD programmes in cardiovascular sciences and advanced therapies, an MSc in Cardiovascular Sciences and an iBSc in Cardiovascular Medicine. Multiple other doctoral training programmes are available across the Faculty. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/scmms

About The Role

Applications are invited for a 3-year Post-Doctoral Research Associate position working in the Salem lab at the Guys Campus of Kings College London.  You will be reporting to Professor Victoria Salem, the RD Lawrence Chair in Diabetic Medicine, and the lab nestles in the wider Diabetes Research Group within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at King’s College London. The Salem lab is a multidisciplinary effort spanning clinical diabetology, basic islet biology and bioengineering for cell-based cures for type 1 diabetes.  At present we are focussed on: advanced organ on chip models of diabetes and its complications, in vivo microscopy, animal models to understand islet biology and material science as applied to scaffolds to support alternative transplant sites for beta cell replacement therapies including stem-cell derived beta cells.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant biomedical sciences/bioengineering subject and have expertise in beta cells and/or experience of assessment of function of islets of Langerhans. Experience of animal models of diabetes is also expected, particularly transplant models and confocal microscopy.  Experience with the design of organ on chip models would also be highly desirable.  The main responsibilities will be human, rodent and stem cell derived islet functional testing, confocal microscopy (quantification of ATP generation, calcium fluxes, insulin secretion, apoptosis, etc.), in vivo (maintenance of normoglycaemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice), cell culture of other cell lines of interest (eg blood outgrowth endothelial cells) and transition of complex beta cell models into organ on chip platforms. This post-doctoral associate post will be held within a vibrant islet biology research community at the Guy’s campus of King’s College London.

Further information about ongoing islet biology research in the Specialism of Diabetes at King’s College London may be found here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/islet-biology. Specific queries relating to the post can be directed to: victoria.salem@kcl.ac.uk

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered  a fixed term contract for three years.

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 in a relevant biomedical sciences or bioengineering subject.
2. Post-doctoral research experience preferably in diabetes
3. Using mouse models in experimental research (preferably in metabolic studies).
4. Confocal microscopy and image analysis
5. Isolation and functional analysis of islets of Langerhans or beta cells.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of islet transplantation into mice particularly the anterior chamber of the eye
2. Organ on chip manufacture and functional readouts
3. Strong publication record/evidence of ability to write papers

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.

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

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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 on 10th February 2026

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.