Research Fellow

About us

Our mission is to maximise and advocate for the holistic health of all children, young people and the adults they will become, through world-class research, education and public engagement. The UCL GOS ICH, together with its clinical partner Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, forms the largest concentration of children’s health research outside North America. The 2024-29 GOS ICH strategy focuses on its five scientific programmes. GOS ICH’s activities include active engagement with children and families, to ensure that our work is relevant and appropriate to their needs. GOS ICH generates the funding for our research by setting out our proposals in high quality applications to public, charitable and industrial funding bodies and disseminates the results of our research by publication in the medical and scientific literature, to clinicians, policy makers and the wider public. The Institute offers world-class education and training across a wide range of teachin g and life learning programmes which address the needs of students and professional groups who are interested in and undertaking work relevant to child health. GOS ICH holds an Athena SWAN Charter Gold Award. Please only attach relevant documents to your application (qualifications, cover letters, supporting statements) and avoid attaching large files e.g. research papers, thesis, publications etc.

About the role

Applicants are invited for a 3-year post-doctorate research project funded by the Little Princess Trust. In this project you will work at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health under supervision of Prof Owen Williams. The aim of this project is to evaluate vulnerabilities associated with the transcription factor MYB in the context of novel small molecule inhibitor therapy of paediatric KMT2A-rearranged Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). Rearrangements of the KMT2A gene, giving rise to KMT2A fusion genes, are prevalent in paediatric AML and generally associated with poor prognosis disease. Research into the mechanistic basis for KMT2A-driven AML has resulted in the development of targeted molecular therapies with remarkable clinical activity. This project will investigate whether these therapies can be improved by simultaneous targeting of pathways downstream of MYB, a transcription factor that functions in both normal and malignant haematopoiesis. The project will use l eukaemia cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models to explore KMT2A-rearranged AML therapeutic susceptibilities in vitro and in vivo, and will involve lentiviral CRISPR drop-out screens. The salary offered in this role is £45,103 - £46,261 per annum and is funded until 18/09/2029 in the first instance.

About you

Experience in tissue culture and molecular biology is essential, and experience with in vitro and in vivo cancer assays is an advantage. Applicants must have (or at least submitted) a PhD in experimental biology. Previous experience with a productive track record in the cancer biology research field is strongly recommended. Individuals without such experience, but with an exceptional track record in productive research in related areas, are also encouraged to apply.

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