King's College London

About Us

King’s College London Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine is one of the largest and most successful centres for research and education in the UK. It consists of over 2000 staff and 5000 students within seven Schools and two Schools of Education. 

The Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CGTRM) Department is located on the Guy’s Hospital Campus in central London. It acts as a nucleus for vibrant research community spanning the entire University and the NHS Foundation Trusts of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. The goal of CGTRM is to bring together researchers with diverse skill sets and a common interest in elucidating the extrinsic and intrinsic signals that regulate stem cell behaviour.

The Spagnoli lab is a highly dynamic team, doing exciting science in the field of development and stem cell biology.

We are part of the Centre for Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London, UK - a world-class research environment with all facilities essential for this ambitious research programme. 

About the role

The Spagnoli group in the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic, highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to work within its research group.

Our team uses interdisciplinary approaches for studying pancreas development and islet cell engineering from pluripotent stem cells. The candidate will be part of a T1D Grand Challenge research programme aiming at harnessing the islet microenvironment in all its complexity for stem cell therapy of diabetes.

This is an exciting interdisciplinary research programme that will require expertise in stem cell culture, human tissue, bioengineering, computational analytical methods and islet transplantation. Applicants should have a recent Ph.D. degree or have submitted their Ph.D. thesis.

The Spagnoli lab is coordinating this T1D Grand Challenge-funded research multi-partner, interdisciplinary consortium and is primarily responsible for developing innovative approaches to closely mimic key features of the native in vivo islet microenvironment using stem cells. The candidate will be leading these efforts and help in developing this ambitious research program.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract until 31/05/2028.  This role is a Lab based role.

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 qualified in relevant subject area or near completion * 
2. Background in developmental and cell biology, with expertise in cell culture (Human ES and/or iPS cells) 
3. Web-lab skills, including experience with stem cell culture (human ES and/or iPS cells) and molecular biology  
4. Expertise in imaging acquisition and analysis (confocal, multiphoton) 
5. Bioinformatics skills, including experience in single-cell RNASeq analysis 
6. Excellent communication (oral and written) skills, with a track record of publishing in relevant research area 
7. Excellent record keeping, working and designing experiments independently; ability to supervise and work with others in the laboratory
8. Self-motivated, with the ability to work under pressure & to meet deadlines

* 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 pancreas and islet biology 
2. Expertise in bioengineering, biomaterials 
3. Animal model transplantation 
4. Computing skills: programming skills, competence in the use of spatial transcriptomics and image analysis software for segmentation 
5. Experience in working collaboratively as part of a team 

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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

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.