King's College London

About us:

The School of Neuroscience is UK’s 2nd largest Neuroscience school with over 500 researchers and 200 PhD students. It is one of three schools at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. We are ranked 4th in the world for the total number of publications in neuroscience, 4th for the number of publication outputs in top 5% citations in neuroscience, and 4th for top 5% citations in neurology.

CDN is one of four departments in the School of Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and is located at Guy’s campus. Researchers have access to support facilities in genotyping, molecular biology and Drosophila work. CDN has close partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and CDN researchers, together with clinical researchers from King’s, make up the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

About the role:

This post consists of providing support on ARUK-funded research investigating the role of local regulation of mRNAs in neuronal and synaptic functions in healthy and neurodegenerative brains, using zebrafish and mammalian cell culture models.

The candidate should hold a Master’s degree in Neuroscience or a related biological science, and previous wet-lab research experience is essential.

The candidate will gain experience in a range of wet-lab techniques using zebrafish embryos and adult brain tissue to investigate how RNA is locally regulated in neurites, how this is disrupted in neurodegeneration, and mechanisms that promote synapse resilience and healthy nervous system ageing.

Proactive and motivated, with strong organisational skills and the ability to identify technical problems and implement effective solutions.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract for 1 year, with the potential to renew each year for up to 3 years or until grant funding end date.

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. Master’s degree in Neuroscience or a related biological science
2. Wet-lab research experience
3. Strong knowledge of brain development, cell biology and neurodegeneration.
4. Skills in using animal models or cells in culture
5. Proactive and motivated, with strong organizational skills, to complete tasks efficiently where possible
6. Ability to identify technical problems and implement effective solutions
7. Experience using data analysis tools (e.g. Image/JFiJi)
8. Microscopy skills

Desirable criteria

1. Experience in zebrafish biology
2. Experience in embryo injections
3. Skills in proteomics
4. Experience using AI powered tools such as AlphaFold

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

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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

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