Postdoctoral Research Associate

We are seeking a highly motivated and scientifically curious post-doctoral research associate to join the regeneration team at King’s College London. The position is within a dynamic group studying neuroplasticity, neurophysiology, recovery mechanisms and clinical translation following traumatic spinal cord injuries in the labs of Prof. Elizabeth Bradbury and Dr. Philippa Warren.   

The Bradbury lab is working to develop translational regenerative therapies to restore function following devastating injures to the nervous system, such as spinal cord and brain injury. The successful candidate will pursue a research project to evaluate novel regenerative therapies and determine methods and mechanisms for enabling neuroplasticity of motor pathways and restoring function, using in vivo models of injury, behavioural assessments of upper and lower limb function, anatomical, histological and biochemical analyses.  

The Warren lab works to recover critical respiratory function after severe spinal cord injury through the use of translatable neuroregenerative treatment strategies. The successful candidate will pursue a research project to understand the diversity of systemic changes to the respiratory motor system following injury and the mechanisms through which we can recover function. We will address this question by interrogating
in vivo models of injury, electrophysiology, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, and biomechanics.  

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to this important and rapidly expanding cross-disciplinary research area. 

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree and PhD (awarded or soon to be awarded) in neuroscience, physiology, pharmacology or a related subject but importantly, a keen interest in developing and learning new techniques and an enthusiasm for science/research. Career development support and mentoring will be provided throughout, including formal and informal training opportunities, an annual budget to attend national/international conferences and networking events, as well as opportunities to co-supervise MSc and BSc student research projects and develop your own research plans. 

Funded by the Medical Research Council, the post will be based in the vibrant and multidisciplinary environment of the Wolfson Center (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/neuroscience/about/departments/card), within the School of Neuroscience, part of the world renowned Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London. The roles will also involve working collaboratively with colleagues from other IoPPN departments including the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences and our national and international collaborators (Prof. Jan Schwab, Ohio State University; Prof. Joost Verhaagen, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience) whilst also fostering and maintaining collaborations within the larger research field. 

Our team is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive research environment. If you are part of a community that is historically under-represented in academic laboratory science – please be encouraged to apply.

Should you have any access requirements which may need additional support or reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact Dr. Philippa Warren.

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 14 months with the possibility of an extension  

This is a full-time  post

•        Have a leading role in assessing the physiological and mechanistic deficits which occur throughout specific motor systems in rodent models of spinal cord injury. 

•        Applying novel treatment strategies to assess the recovery after spinal cord injury 

•        Maintain up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive lab notes and to undertake the analysis of results of research studies as stated above 

•        Performing and optimising analytical techniques for data acquisition 

•        Plan and perform experiments independently 

•        Provide exceptional care to all animals in-line with all local and national guidelines to maintain the highest standard of welfare 

•        Take a leading role in the development and introduction of new laboratory techniques and to assist and train other members of the group, including technical staff, students, and other research staff in related lab projects. 

•        Assist with the general running of the laboratory  

•        Develop new ideas to progress the project 

•        Keep up to date with relevant scientific literature 

•        Facilitate with collaborations and networking 

•        Collate and prepare the results of the project for publication (conferences and peer-reviewed journals) 

•        Be actively involved in the supervision and training of undergraduate, MSc and PhD students in lab projects within the group/team 

•        Undertake any other reasonable duties relevant to the lab including general laboratory tasks, database management, health and safety training and implementation, internal and external audits, reagent ordering and looking after communal equipment and facilities. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Essential criteria  

1.      PhD awarded (or near completion) and an awarded degree (e.g. BSc or equivalent) in a relevant scientific field  

2.      An enthusiasm for spinal cord injury research, excitement for the field, highly motivated, hardworking and adaptable. 

3.      Ability to present scientific research in the form of papers, posters and oral presentation 

4.      Able to work independently in the design and execution of experiments 

5.      Ability to take initiative to solve technical problems 

6.      Ability to multitask, prioritise workload and work to good laboratory practice including good organizational skills 

7.      Excellent time management and record keeping skills 

8.      Adaptable, with strong interpersonal skills, enabling you to work within our friendly and welcoming team 

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience with rodent models of CNS injury or disease (e.g. in vivo surgical and/or behavioural techniques) 

2.      Experience with physiological or electrophysiological assessments 

3.      Experience of circuitry mapping through anatomical tracing or immunostaining and histology methods (e.g. RNAScope)  

4.      Expertise in regeneration biology, including cellular and extracellular mechanisms of regeneration and tissue repair  

5.      Home office license – modules A-C 

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. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

Your application should include: 

The application form (online)  

A personal statement including:  

your reasons for pursuing post-doctoral training 

why you would like this position in particular 

your current research interests 

your goals and expectations for this postdoctoral training experience 

 how you meet the job requirements and responsibilities. 

A copy of your CV detailing your education, employment, relevant research experience, publications, and awards/prizes/professional recognition 

Optional: you may include a cover letter to your application and/or any other material which may be of interest to the reviewing panel e.g accepted manuscripts.  

Candidates who are shortlisted will be invited to take part in the interview process, which will occur either online or in person. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to deliver a short presentation of their work and answer competency based questions in a panel interview.