King's College London

About Us

King’s College London is one of the world’s leading research-intensive universities, renowned for excellence in health and life sciences and its close integration with clinical practice through King’s Health Partners.

The Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) at King’s College London is the academic arm of one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, bringing together world‑class clinical services delivered by NHS partners with cutting‑edge research and education to improve outcomes for cancer patients in South East London and beyond. The Centre has a strong and diverse research portfolio, supported by major strategic investments including the Cancer Research UK City of London Centre, CRUK RadNet, the KHP Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, PharosAI, and the Breast Cancer Now Research Unit. Led by Professor Sheila Singh, Head of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre and joint Head of the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the CCC is also committed to training the next generation of researchers, supporting over 80 PhD students and delivering a highly successful MRes in Translational Cancer Medicine.

The three types of tumours studied by Dr. Singh’s lab are glioblastoma, medulloblastoma and brain metastases. The lab employs a stem cell biology framework to the study of these cancers to identify and target the molecular mechanisms responsible for their development. Their goal is to determine which treatment refractory cells are leading to relapse and recurrence in patients. Ultimately, Dr. Singh’s goal is to be able to take more targeted and effective therapies back to the clinic. To ensure that all of their findings have the potential to be clinically relevant, the Singh lab has cultivated a specialty in developing pre-clinical models and are steadfast in their commitment to working with brain tumour samples direct from human patients.

About The Role

The post holder will play a significant role in Professor Singh’s laboratory, its establishment at King’s College London and ongoing management, overseeing the team’s research work. Working closely with the laboratory’s Technical Manager they are responsible for the induction of staff, students and visitors working in the laboratory, in particular the use of protocols, of equipment and techniques to ensure that there is adherence to these and good laboratory practice (including biosafety) to give assurance that the research findings are robust and replicable. The post holder develop comprehensive experimental project plans (timelines, milestones, resource allocation and budget requirements) and is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of Professor Singh’s research programme. They will guiding the wider team when problems arise.

Once established in the post, the post holder is expected to manage other members of the laboratory team. They will contribute to the development of the laboratory, its strategic direction and will co-author research papers and develop research funding applications. They will be instrumental in setting up new grants and projects – including seeking ethics approval – and working with the laboratory’s Technical Manager to manage on a day-to-day basis the resources used by the laboratory. They will represent the laboratory, including at meetings with industry contracts, collaborator/partners and the public, as well as to expert groups, such as presentations at conferences, helping raise the profile of the laboratory’s work and findings.

The post holder is required to hold a PhD and to have significant experience - up to five year’s post-doctoral experience - working within cancer biology, stem cell biology or immunology. They should be competent in flow cytometry, basic molecular biology and cell biology techniques, tissue culture, and cancer biology animal models. Experience with biocomputational analyses, neurobiology, proteomics, patient-derived xenografts, or stem cell biology technical skills is desirable. The post holder will provide training in lab techniques to students within the group and help with the overall management of the lab.

The post holder is a key member of the laboratory and is critical to establishing a positive research culture.

The post is full time (35 hours per week), based at Guy’s campus, for a period of 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, Immunology, Molecular Biology, or Cancer Biology
2. Expertise in Flow Cytometry.
3. Expertise in molecular biology
4. Experience of working independently, using own initiative to get complete work on time 
5. Experience in supervising the research of staff and/or students – such as research and/or undergraduate/Masters project students 
6. Expertise in data analysis 
7. Experience writing up research work for publication 

Desirable criteria

1. Experience in CAR T research  
2. Proficiency in project management tools and software
3. Experience with biocomputational analyses, neurobiology, proteomics, patient-derived xenografts, or stem cell biology technical skills Expertise in Flow cytometric analyses
4. Experience of working with animal models
5. Experience in writing up own research proposals and grants

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.

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.