Research Fellow – Polymer Chemist

About us

The UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science offers a highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary environment where clinicians, engineers, allied health professionals and researchers work together to develop innovative treatment approaches. Our focus goes beyond conventional methods, aiming to deliver personalized treatment for each patient. As a world leader in medical and biomedical research, we are at the forefront of advancements in medicine and science, closely aligning our research with growing patient and industry needs.

About the role

The post is funded by EPSRC Healthcare Hub: The VIVO Hub for Enhanced Independent Living. This role is for a qualified and experienced scientist/engineer who has been working in an academic or commercial research laboratory/company related to design and synthesis of high-performance functional polymers and nanocomposites. We will closely collaborate with partner groups in the VIVO Hub for exploitation of their applications of actuators, wearable and implantable devices, soft robotics. The aim of the projects is to develop future digital-physical enhanced mobility assistance systems.

Other
• The advert will close on 6th January 2025 at 23:59 GMT, however we may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. Early application submission is recommended.
• Interview Date(s) TBC
• If you have any queries about the role, please contact Prof. Wenhui Song on
• If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the HR Team on

About you

The post holder must hold a PhD degree in polymer chemistry, polymer science and engineering, polymer composites/nanocomposites or in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience
Expertise in in design, synthesis and characterisation of responsive and functional polymers, elastomers, hydrogels or polymer composites/nanocomposites for wearable devices, soft robotics or implantable devices
The successful holder must have experience in processing and characterisation of structure and properties of polymers, composites and nanocomposites; or design, fabrication and characterisation of wearable devices or implantable devices, e.g. scaffolds, sensor, actuators and soft robotics.
Experience in 3D and 4D printing and characterisation of active devices, photonic/electronic devices and implants would be advantageous.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent.

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

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