King's College London

About us:

The School of Academic Psychiatry brings together five leading clinical departments: Addictions, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Psychological Medicine, and Psychosis Studies. Our community includes more than 100 Principal Investigators and a vibrant research portfolio supported by £30–40 million in active grants. Across the School, our work spans the full breadth of psychiatry—from public policy to molecular genetics, from perinatal mental health to old age, and from psychological therapies to advanced brain imaging. 

This role sits within the Department of Psychological Medicine, at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHBA).

At CHBA, we are united by a simple but powerful goal: to help people maintain good mental and cognitive health as they age, and to ensure that older adults—including our own parents and grandparents—receive the highest standard of care should they develop psychological or psychiatric conditions. We are a friendly, motivated, and collaborative team, committed to nurturing the next generation of researchers in our field.

We aim to advance the development of biomarkers for neurocognitive disorders and to create innovative approaches for the early diagnosis of cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and ageing-related psychiatric conditions. As a centre of excellence for clinical trials, we support the development of novel therapeutic strategies and technologies while improving patient access to both established and emerging treatments.

About the role: 

The post holder will play a key role in supporting the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing ongoing portfolio of clinical and translational research studies. Responsibilities will include overseeing day-to-day study operations, ensuring adherence to protocols and regulatory standards, and facilitating communication between investigators, research assistants, and collaborators across sites. The successful candidate will conduct cognitive and clinical assessments, contribute to data collection, management, and analysis, and support the preparation of research outputs including reports and publications. They will maintain regular contact with study participants and their relatives, ensuring a high standard of participant engagement and retention. In addition, the post holder will assist in the development and maintenance of essential study documentation and processes to ensure compliance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and institutional policies. They will also provide administrative and research support for the management of multiple studies, working under the supervision of Prof Dag Aarsland and contributing to the scientific and operational success of the Centre’s research portfolio. 

This is a full time (40 hours per week), and you will be offered a 12mth FTC 

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. MBChB/ MBBS or equivalent  
2. Full GMC registration with valid license to practice  
3. Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills with the ability to convey goals of research to lay people and communicate complex information in clear and easily understandable way to a lay audience, including those with cognitive impairment 
4. Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team, with strong problem-solving skills and ability to take initiative  
5. Strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and excellent attention to detail and accuracy, with strong administrative and record-keeping skills  
6. Experience running a Clinical Trial of an Investigative Medicinal Product (CTIMP) or acceptability studies of novel interventions 
7. Experience of reviewing ECG reports independently 
8. Experience of conducting Lumbar puncture procedure

Desirable criteria

1. Ability to collect and process biological samples  
2. Experience of Intrathecal Administration  
3. Experience of preparing academic papers for publication and ability to conduct and present scientific research in the form of posters and oral presentations 
4. Prior involvement in multi-institutional or international research collaborations 
5. Clinical Experience and experience of working with people with dementia, and sensitive to the needs of people with dementia and their carers 

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. Interviews are due to be held on 08/09/2026

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.