Research Assistant

About Us

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS) is one of six schools that make up the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine (FoLSM) at King College London. The school drives translation of world-leading basic science into advances in clinical practices with activities focusing on the Cardiac Biomedicine Department of Diabetes and Vascular Biomedicine.

About The Role

Applications are invited for the position of Research Assistant in the Department of Diabetes at King’s College London (KCL), working in the laboratories of Prof. Gavin Bewick.

The assistant will play a central supporting role in delivering a complex, multidisciplinary research programme that investigates cilia as a novel therapeutic target in Type 1 diabetes, ensuring that day-to-day experimental work runs efficiently, reliably and to a high technical standard. The primary purpose of the role is to provide skilled laboratory support across the project, generating high-quality data in molecular biology and cell-based assays that will underpin mechanistic insights into how cilia dysfunction alters islet architecture, immune infiltration and immune cell interactions. Working closely with the Dr. Haq, the assistant will help implement and optimise protocols, maintain accurate records and sample inventories, and support the integration of datasets required to map cilia gene and protein networks in mouse and human islets.

The post holder will be responsible to Dr Naila Haq as Principal Investigator and will be embedded within the Department of Diabetes at King’s College London, contributing to a collaborative team that includes academic, technical and bioinformatics staff as well as external partners at Exeter, Cardiff, UCL and international biobanks. We are looking for someone with a good undergraduate and/or Masters degree in a relevant field (e.g., cell/molecular biology, biochemistry or life/biological sciences) and a strong background in cell and molecular biology The assistant will be responsible for supporting a range of experimental approaches, including preparation and processing of mouse and human pancreatic sections for RNAScope, immunohistochemistry as well as RNA extraction and qPCR.

In addition to experimental duties, the assistant will be responsible for day-to-day lab management tasks essential to project delivery, including ordering and stock control of consumables, coordinating use of shared equipment, maintaining accurate logs for reagents and antibodies, and ensuring that data are stored and backed up in line with institutional data management policies. The role holder will support the implementation of good laboratory practice, health and safety procedures and environmentally sustainable working practices, including reduction, reuse and recycling initiatives aligned with KCL and Wellcome policies.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 24 months.

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