Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cardio-Immunology

About Us

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS) provides an outstanding multi-disciplinary environment for the pursuit of cutting-edge cardiovascular and metabolic research. We study the fundamental molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that underly normal and abnormal cardiovascular and metabolic function and drive the translation of this strong basic science into advances in clinical practice. Our community of world-renowned researchers have access to state-of-the art core facilities and expertise, including facilities for high-throughput screening and high content imaging, multimodality in vivo imaging, proteomics, spatial and single-cell transcriptomics. As part of King's Health Partners, we have an excellent environment for basic-clinical interaction and a strong focus on mentoring and career development. The School hosts the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at King's, which brings together a unique range of internationally recognised scientists and clinicians from across the School and King's College London.

More information:

About The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a growing programme investigating how age-associated changes in haematopoiesis shape inflammatory responses relevant to cardiovascular disease. Working within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences and the King's BHF Centre of Research Excellence, the successful candidate will contribute to mechanistic studies examining how myeloid cell phenotypes influence tissue injury, repair, and clinical outcomes.

The postholder will work at the interface of immunology and cardiovascular biology, integrating data from preclinical models with analyses of human samples to identify pathways that may contribute to maladaptive inflammation. They will be responsible for designing and implementing experimental studies, contributing to analytical and interpretative efforts across the Group, and preparing high-quality research outputs. The role will suit a motivated and rigorous experimental scientist who enjoys conceptual problem-solving and working collaboratively across disciplines.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 3 years.

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 a PhD in immunology, cardiovascular science, haematology, or a closely related field, with hands-on experience of cellular and/or molecular approaches for studying immune mechanisms. You will demonstrate the ability to design and troubleshoot experiments independently, maintain high standards of data integrity, and work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Experience in inflammatory biology, myeloid cell function, cardiovascular injury, or translational immunology would be highly advantageous, as would familiarity with contemporary analytical approaches such as flow cytometry or transcriptional profiling. You will be a clear communicator with a track record of high-quality scientific writing and a desire to contribute to a collaborative, ambitious research environment.

Essential criteria

• PhD or equivalent in immunology, cardiovascular sciences, haematology, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience applying cellular and molecular techniques to study innate or adaptive immune mechanisms.
• Ability to design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments independently.
• Strong conceptual understanding of inflammatory signalling and its relevance to complex disease.
• Evidence of high-quality scientific writing and presentation skills.
• Proven capacity to manage research workflows, maintain accurate records, and meet project deadlines.
• Excellent teamwork, communication skills, and willingness to contribute to an interdisciplinary research environment.

Desirable criteria

• Experience with in vivo models of inflammation or cardiovascular injury.
• Prior work with human clinical samples or translational immunology.
• Familiarity with multi-omics approaches, including transcriptomic or proteomic analysis.
• Experience collaborating with computational or clinical research teams.

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, provided at the bottom of the page. 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. 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.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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.

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.