King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About us:

The Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Department at King’s College London is committed to advancing the understanding of the nervous system in health and disease through research, education, and clinical interventions.

Our mission is to provide a platform for students, faculty, and staff to explore and develop innovative ways to understand molecular and cellular basis of behaviour, uncover mechanisms and new treatment targets for neurological disorders as well as carry out clinical interventions stemming from their discoveries.

Professor Sandrine Thuret and Professor Karl Giese co-lead the department to provide the best possible environment for world-class fundamental and clinical research in neurodegeneration and mechanisms of mental health while they strive to promote a culture of collaboration, research integrity, respect and inclusivity amongst members of the fundamental and clinical neuroscience community.

The Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience is situated in the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute on Denmark Hill Campus. It is home to The Wohl Cellular Imaging Centre, the UK Dementia Research Institute at King's and the UK Motor Neuron Disease Research Institute. By working closely with King’s College Hospital, Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital, we ensure novel treatments are both effective and practical.

About the role:  

We are seeking a research assistant to join our team with expertise in the culture and differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells and molecular biology. The post is funded by a BBSRC project grant in collaboration with the University of Manchester, which aims to characterise the epigenetic signature of maternal immune activation in the developing brain and its downstream impacts on the brain and behaviour. This post builds on our prior work implicating specific cytokines in neurodevelopmental disorder aetiology (Warre-Cornish et al. Science Advances 2020; Couch et al. Brain Behaviour and Immunity, 2024). The successful candidate will be responsible for the culture and maintenance of human iPS cell lines, differentiating these into neural progenitor cells, neurons, and glial cells, treating the cells with specific cytokines, either alone or in combination and collecting DNA/RNA/protein samples for downstream molecular biology work. The post will also involve ensuring quality control of all cell lines. The candidate will be expected to carry out these tasks as routine experiments, working independently but also as part of a team. They will be expected and required to maintain detailed records, stocks, and work with all other team members. The role requires a background in human cell culture and molecular biology and an interest in neurodevelopmental disorders and neuro-immune interactions.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered  a fixed term contract until August 31st, 2027.

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. Hold a relevant undergraduate degree (e.g. degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry neuroscience) 
2. Previous experience with human cell culture and good aseptic techniques  
3. Previous experience with molecular biology techniques such as PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, cloning and DNA sequencing. 
4. Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex experiments. 
5. Evidence of good record keeping and project management   

Desirable criteria

1. Experience with culture and differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into neuronal and glial cell fates 
2. Experience in the use of bioinformatics tools for DNA methylation and/or RNA sequencing analysis  

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.

Interviews are due to be held mid-June 2026.