Research Associate

About the role

Food allergies are increasing, affect 8% of children and 10% of adults and can be life-threatening. With no cure, patients must avoid allergens and carry emergency medication, leading to restricted social lives and anxiety. While immunotherapy can raise the reaction threshold, it does not eliminate life-style limitations and risk of reactions. Urgent action is needed to develop definitive treatments for food allergies.

Exposure to food allergens through the gastrointestinal tract is tolerogenic. Peanut consumption from the first year of life reduced peanut allergy by 81% in a randomised-controlled trial. This impressive effect was allergen-specific and sustained over time. However, the underlying immune mechanisms of oral tolerance induction to peanut are not well understood.

In this research programme, we will use unique samples from young children undergoing their first oral exposure to peanut to explore the changes in the immune response to peanut induced by oral exposure. This work will be done in close collaboration with the Neves Lab at King’s College London, where a novel co-culture of human gut organoid models will be established with patients’ immune cells. This collaborative effort will allow us to pinpoint key pathways involved in establishing oral tolerance to food allergens and explore how they can be modulated to develop curative treatments for food allergies.

The postdoctoral research associate is expected to develop the project, to maintain accurate records of performed experiments, to analyse and summarize research results, to write reports and manuscripts, to prioritize work and meet deadlines, to join in research group and departmental activities, and to contribute to their positive and inclusive research culture.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), based at Guy’s Campus, and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 3 years, starting no earlier than the 1st November 2025. 

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

• PhD awarded in immunology or related areas *
• Knowledge and relevant laboratorial experience in immunology (preference lymphocytes), including experience with flow cytometry
• Knowledge and relevant laboratorial experience in cell culture
• Very good organisational skills and meticulous at work with strong work ethic and good research practice
• Good communication skills, orally and in writing, along with strong interpersonal skills
• Good track record with previous experience in contributing to the preparation of manuscripts and/or grant applications

* 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

• Evidence of initiative, resilience, proactivity and productivity with high motivation and ability to persevere
• Experience with spectral flow cytometry
• Experience in analysis of scRNAseq data using R
• Experience in working with human blood samples
• Previous experience in supervising/teaching students

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