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.

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:

The post consists of independently designing and executing experiments on an ARUK-funded project aimed towards understanding the role of local regulation of mRNAs on neuronal and synaptic functions in healthy and neurodegenerative brains, using zebrafish and cell culture models.

The candidate should hold a PhD degree or equivalent in Neuroscience or Developmental Biology, and needs to be proficient in molecular biology techniques and in mRNA and protein detection methods. Experience in confocal imaging and 3D analysis is essential.

The role is expected to independently design experiments to deliver a series of mRNA and protein detections in live or fixed genetically modified zebrafish  or mammalian cells (including responsibility for caring for and maintaining fish and cell lines) and analyse these to provide a detailed and robust measurement of subcellular protein and mRNA behaviour at various stages of development. The post holder will also perform proteomics experiments and use protein-focused AI tools.

The role requires strong communication skills, with the candidate discussing data and findings with the line managers, presenting data and findings in lab meetings, as well as at local and international conferences.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 1 year, with the potential to renew every year for up to 3 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 neuroscience or developmental biology or equivalent
2. Experience in molecular and cellular biology
3. Understanding of genetics
4. Confocal microscopy skills and experience in image analysis
5. Skills in using animal models or cells in culture
6. Experience in using sophisticated data analysis and machine learning tools
7. Knowledge in brain development or cell biology
8. Experience in writing scientific reports and manuscripts

**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 embryo injections
2. Experience in zebrafish biology
3. Skills in proteomics
4. Experience in using AI tools such as Alphafold
5. Extensive knowledge in neuronal development

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.