King's College London

About Us

The School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS) provides an outstanding multi-disciplinary environment for the pursuit of cutting-edge cardiovascular and metabolic research (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/scms).  

We study the fundamental molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that underly normal and abnormal cardiovascular and metabolic function and we drive the translation of this strong basic science into advances in clinical practice to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment.  This activity provides a high-quality research and training environment for non-clinical and clinical scientists.

The School occupies facilities across the Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Denmark Hill campuses of King’s College London and comprises over 65 academic groups, hosting 400 staff and 110 PhD students. 

Our community of world-renowned researchers and educators have access to a state-of-the art core facilities and expertise, including for high-throughput screening, multimodality in vivo imaging, proteomics, integrative physiology and viral & non-viral vector production. As part of King’s Health Partners, we have an excellent environment for basic-clinical interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development. 

The School is a partner of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St. Thomas’, which offers world class facilities for translational studies and phase I/II clinical trials. The post is based within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at the James Black Centre (King’s Denmark Hill campus) as part of the King’s College London BHF Centre of Research Excellence and the MRC/BHF Centre for Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics (REACT). The School and these Centres provide an outstanding highly multidisciplinary environment with state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and technical support for both laboratory work and animal studies. 

About The Role

Applications are invited for a talented and enthusiastic postdoctoral scientist to join Prof Mauro Giacca’s laboratory at the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at King's College London. The postholder will be part of a vibrant multi-disciplinary research group operating across different research themes in cardiac biology, having the specific aim to identify novel targets and develop therapeutic approaches for cardiac repair and regeneration.

Minimum qualifications are PhD and/or MD with strong expertise in molecular, cellular, biochemical biology and histological analysis. Candidates need to be experts in the use of AAV vectors for cardiovascular applications and have extensive prior experience in animal models of cardiovascular disease. Excellent publication history is required. Candidates should be highly motivated individuals with excellent communication skills, and have the ability to work independently. The post holder will have the opportunity to write and publish results of research studies in high impact score peer-reviewed journals and report research results at international conferences. A contribution to undergraduate/postgraduate education will be part of the job.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term one-year contract, which can be renewed.

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 relevant biological sciences and/or MD 
2. Strong expertise in cell, biochemical and molecular biology and in histological analysis 
3. Prior documented work in animal models of cardiovascular disease 
4. Prior documented work with the use of AAV vectors for cardiovascular applications 
5. Excellent publication history in experimental cardiovascular medicine 

Desirable criteria

1. Experience in advanced microscopy techniques 
2. Experience in the study of cardiac regeneration in animal models 

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.