Post-doctoral Research Associate

About us

King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. We are dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and to realising our vision of making the world a better place.

The Lord Lab is based in the Centre for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CGTRM) within the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. We are seeking to recruit a postdoctoral research associate to contribute to an innovative translational immunology programme led by Professor Graham Lord.

About the role

We are seeking a postdoctoral Research Associate to join an innovative translational immunology programme. Working closely with gastroenterologists and immunologists at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London (KCL), the post holder will investigate the biology of regulatory T cells (Tregs) to identify the most suppressive Treg subsets within IBD gut lesions - informing targeted strategies for restoring immune balance in IBD patients.

This role forms part of the TRIBUTE trial, within a multidisciplinary programme developing precision medicine strategies that leverage the immunosuppressive properties of Tregs. The successful candidate will provide lab-based functional validation of scRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomic findings, translating these into clinically relevant therapeutic targets.

The role offers an exceptional opportunity to build an independent research profile at the forefront of translational immunology, collaborating closely with Professor Peter Irving, gastroenterology specialist at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, alongside immunologists and bioinformaticians. We are looking for a motivated individual with strong communication skills and a genuine enthusiasm for translational immunology research.

This is a full-time (35 hours a week), and you will be offered a fixed-term contract until 31 May 2027. While some flexible or hybrid working may be considered, regular in-person onsite will be required.

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 & experience:

Essential criteria

• PhD in Immunology, Systems Biology, or a related discipline
• Experience in knockout generation using CRISPR
• Experience in cellular and molecular immunology techniques, including flow cytometry, ex vivo Treg expansion, intracellular cytokine assays, and functional immune assays
• Experience working with human clinical samples
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team
• Excellent communication, and scientific writing skills with evidence of contributing to papers, abstracts, funding applications and/or reports

Desirable criteria

• Post-doctoral or equivalent industry experience in immunology
• Experience in analysing high-dimensional and spatial data, including imaging mass cytometry (IMC)
• Advanced programming and data analysis skills in R and/or Python

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. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* 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.

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