Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cardiovascular Biology

at  Kings College London

Job id: 106745. Salary: £44,105 - £45,247 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.
Posted: 05 February 2025. Closing date: 04 March 2025.
Business unit: Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. Department: SCMMS Denmark Hill.
Contact details: Dr Anna Zampetaki. anna.zampetaki@kcl.ac.uk
Location: Denmark Hill Campus. Category: Research.
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
The King’s College London British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Research Excellence is designed to nurture interdisciplinary collaborations and bench-to-bedside projects in cardiovascular research (www.kcl.ac.uk/scms/bhf-centre).
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Faculty of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences, the core constituent of the BHF Centre.
The applicant will work on a Diabetes UK-funded project aiming to uncover novel events in diabetic microangiopathy that can be targeted pharmacologically to restore the function of the microvasculature. Microangiopathy is a major complication in diabetes mellitus with a pronounced impact on microvascular perfusion, vessel rarefaction and tissue ischemia. Using human blood vessel organoids (BVOs) we recently demonstrated that they capture key aspects of the microvasculature and respond rapidly to metabolic rewiring (Romeo et al Nat Commun 2023 10.1038/s41467-023-41326-2). In this project, the successful applicant will utilize diabetic patient-derived BVOs to establish a functional screening platform that will enable personalized therapeutic approaches. This pipeline will serve as a personalized system to test existing and new medications to identify effective drugs for each diabetic patient.
Applicants must hold a PhD in Biology/Biochemistry (or an equivalent scientific degree), be highly motivated, independent and should be able to integrate and work as part of a team. An excellent background in cardiovascular, cellular and molecular biology as well as confocal imaging are required. Experience in working with human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) and organoid technologies is highly desirable.
This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 29 February 2028.
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 ‘Biological Sciences’ or PhD in ‘Biological Sciences’ near completion.
• Cardiovascular background
• Strong expertise in cellular and molecular biology
• Strong expertise in cell culture
• Strong expertise in confocal Imaging
• Commitment to continuing personal and professional development
• Self-motivated, ability to work independently and prioritise competing demands on time.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Desirable criteria

• Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Skills
• Organoid technologies
• Excellent organisational skills

Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Further information
This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.
We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King’s.
We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.
To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.
Interviews are due to be held between 5th - 7th March 2025

Please refer the Job description for details