UK DRI Research Associate in the Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience

About us:

Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges of our century. To date, there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of the diseases that cause it. The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative driving forward research to fill this gap.

We are a globally leading multidisciplinary research institute of 850 staff investigating the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders causing dementia, with laboratory-based research groups located at University College London, the University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, Edinburgh University, Imperial College London, and King's College London.

Researchers at the UK DRI at King's use innovative approaches to explore the biological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Their goal is to defeat dementia by uncovering vital new knowledge that will lead to the design of smarter diagnostics and effective treatments. The team aims to understand the fundamental biological processes involved in dementia at a molecular level - and to use that knowledge to design new ways to diagnose and treat disease more precisely.

About the role:

Join the forefront of dementia research at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King's College London, where our vibrant and interdisciplinary research community is dedicated to unraveling the complexities of the most common types of motor neuron disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal dementia. As part of the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, the UK DRI at King's focuses on innovative cellular, molecular, and computational research to advance our understanding of neurodegeneration.

Dr Sarah Marzi (https://ukdri.ac.uk/team/sarah-marzi) is seeking to appoint a Research Associate. Her research programme aims to determine the role of epigenetic regulation in neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease, using state-of-the-art epigenetic and genomic techniques in cell populations and at the single-cell level. Specifically, we seek to identify an epigenetic link between non-coding genetic and environmental risk in dementia and identify mechanisms by which these risk factors make cells susceptible to neurodegeneration.

The successful candidate should have laboratory experience in epigenetics techniques, particularly chromatin profiling to lead on research identifying Alzheimer's disease-linked epigenetic regulation. You will be a dynamic, creative, and motivated scientist interested in pursuing questions deeply. With strong molecular biology experience of genomic/epigenomic approaches, you will use a range of methods for brain tissue analyses including next-generation RNA sequencing, ChIP sequencing, CUT&Tag/TIP-seq (or equivalent), and ATAC sequencing methods.

The Marzi Lab is highly collaborative. You will join a multidisciplinary team on the Denmark Hill Campus with a leading role in:

• Designing and performing experiments
• Developing technical advances
• Performing data analysis
• Presenting the results
• Writing up manuscripts to be submitted to peer-reviewed journals

You will be given opportunities to work closely with a broad range of other scientists across the UK DRI and in external universities. It is recognized that new ideas are always needed in the field, and you will be given opportunities to explore your own and other novel ideas, train in new methods, and develop new competencies. King's College also encourages the continued professional development of its staff through both internal and external educational courses covering skills such as project, financial, or time management and communication, as well as scientific topics. You will also be supported to attend scientific meetings to present work, subject to progress and budgets.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed-term contract until 30/06/2025.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. Hold a PhD in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial, or commercial experience*
2. Practical experience within a research environment and publication in relevant and refereed journals and ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature
3. Knowledge of next-generation genomic approaches, specifically those pertaining to chromatin biology
4. Practical experience in a broad range of standard laboratory techniques including light microscopy and molecular biology (e.g., immunofluorescence on brain tissue, cloning, qPCR, cell culture)
5. Practical experience in some or all of the following high-throughput genomics techniques such as ATAC-sequencing, RNA-sequencing, ChIP sequencing, and more (please see attached job description)
6. Experience with flow cytometry
7. Excellent written communication skills and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for publication
8. Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative

Desirable criteria

1. Experience working with bio-banked tissue
2. Familiarity with neuroanatomy and/or immunology
3. Experience working with single cell/nuclei dissociation protocols

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting the 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.

Further information:

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 review your application, please take a look at our 'How we Recruit' pages.

Interviews will be conducted before the end of November.

This role does meet the requirements of the Home Office and therefore we are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who require the right to work in the UK.