Research Fellow

The Department of Neuromuscular Diseases is a hub for clinical and research excellence across the spectrum of spinal cord and neuromuscular diseases. Our group of world-leading clinical, genetic and basic science researchers focus their work on understanding the causes and biological mechanisms leading to Neuromuscular Disease and translating this knowledge into developing novel therapeutic solutions that is of direct benefit to neurological disorders such as motor neurone disease, Alzheimer’s disease and neuromuscular disease.

The Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre (QS MND), based in the Department, has recently been established from a world class track-record of research in basic and translational neuroscience in motor neuron disease. 15 Principal Investigators, including health professionals, clinicians and scientists involved in clinical care as well as basic and translational research from molecular mechanisms to clinical trials, make MND a vibrant and extremely competitive area of research at UCL.

We are recruiting a Research Fellow to support ongoing work on the immune response to neurodegeneration and on the identification of neoepitopes/neoantigens targeted by clonally expanded immune cells in ALS.

You will be involved in the development of research for the project “Investigating glial-immune crosstalk in modulating sporadic ALS survival in post-mortem and longitudinal samples”. You will help with the development of proteomic techniques that simultaneously study brain tissue and biological fluids and with the analysis and integration of omic data to identify novel biomarkers for ALS.

You will also optimise and test novel techniques to identify those neoantigens that are key to the immune response in ALS. A central aspect of the research will also be the phenotypic characterization and sorting of senescent immune cells, along with immunocomplexes in biological samples from people living with ALS. Since the aim is to develop treatments that enhance t regulatory cells effects in mitigating neuronal cells degeneration, you will be expected to work on TCR and antibody characterisation to be used for T cell engineering projects.

The post is available from 01 August 2025 and is funded by Target ALS Foundation and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation for one year in the first instance.

If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online, or have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Institute of Neurology HR Team (ion.hradmin at ucl.ac.uk).

Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Professor Andrea Malaspina (a.malaspina at ucl.ac.uk).

For a full job description and to apply for this role please visit UCL’s online recruitment portal (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs) and search using vacancy reference B02-08970.

You’ll have a PhD in neuroscience, biology, or a related area, coupled with experience in MS proteomics techniques, tissue/fluids preparation, and with biochemistry and molecular biology techniques for antigen and antibody detection. A good understanding of bioinformatic and biostatistical approaches to data analysis and of TCR and antibody characterisation to be used for T cell engineering projects is essential for this role, as is experience in phenotypic characterisation of blood mononuclear cells using flow cytometry, Mass cytometry (CyTOF), and cell-sorting.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits; visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Customer advert reference: B02-08970

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